The opposition party tabled a draft order to end the discriminatory practice for queer men and trans people<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Three Conservative MPs gave a press conference Tuesday morning to mark the start of Pride Month, outlining their plan to spend the next few weeks pressing the Liberal government to end the blood ban. Openly gay MP Eric Duncan, along with MPs Michelle Rempel Garner and Bernard G\u00e9n\u00e9reux, made the demand of the government and presented a draft order<\/a> that they say could allow the minister to make the changes, in spite of Canadian Blood Services (CBS) being at arm\u2019s length from the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is long past due for the federal government to put an end to the stigma and discrimination that men who have sex with men face in this country,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cToday we are calling on the government to do the right thing: Stop the legal games in court to silence gay men who are just asking you to keep your promises.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Duncan referred to the government\u2019s promise to end the ban as \u201cvirtue signalling\u201d while at the same time arguing that the decision is out of the government\u2019s hands <\/p>\n\n\n\n Currently, CBS requires men who have sex with men (MSM) and some trans folks to remain abstinent for three months in order to donate blood. Justin Trudeau\u2019s Liberals campaigned on ending the blood ban<\/a> in both 2015 and 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The draft ministerial order released at the Tory press conference targeted the Blood Regulations<\/a> under the federal Food and Drug Act<\/em>, and would insert clauses to protect MSM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf [Minister of Health Patty Hajdu] does not believe it\u2019s adequate, she has an obligation to explain what gaps in the legislation exist and take immediate action to rectify that,\u201d said Rempel Garner. \u201cThe federal government cannot be allowed to skate by on thin talking points suggesting that they can\u2019t make the change or that they can throw money at the problem and it will go away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe federal government cannot be allowed to skate by on thin talking points.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Rempel Garner said that the federal government is the regulator, and that they can introduce legislation in order to make changes. If they refuse to, their motives must be questioned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analysis of the draft order, however, suggests that might not be the case. University of Ottawa law professor Y.Y. Chen says that the text released by the Conservatives won\u2019t have the desired outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s an interesting approach,\u201d Chen says of the draft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first part of the order would remove any terms permitting the MSM blood ban under Health Canada regulations, though there don\u2019t appear to be any such terms in place. \u201cI don\u2019t know what that section actually will do if there\u2019s nothing for them to cancel,\u201d Chen says. \u201cIt might simply be there to be sure.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday, CTV News reported<\/a> that Health Canada\u2019s regulatory arm, which provides oversight of CBS in an independent capacity from the minister, ordered there to be two-year intervals between changes to the donor screening criteria before they could be updated again in order to monitor the impacts. The last policy change was in 2019, which reduced the deferral period to three months from one year. That means a policy change could well be in order for 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n