HESA Committee Report
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LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS
As a result of their deliberations committees may make recommendations which they include in their reports for the consideration of the House of Commons or the Government. Recommendations related to this study are listed below.
Awareness campaign, education and training
Recommendation 1
That the Government of Canada develop and implement a national awareness campaign on sexual and gender diversity that reflects an intersectional analysis in order to address the stigma and discrimination faced by LGBTQIA2 communities in Canada.
Recommendation 2
That the Government of Canada develop information tools on sexual and gender diversity in both official languages and other appropriate languages as requested.
Recommendation 3
That the Government of Canada ensure that the Public Health Agency of Canada promptly completes the revision of the Canadian Guidelines for Sexual Health Education; that the revised version include the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities in all areas; and that the updated guidelines are made available across Canada.
Recommendation 4
That the Government of Canada, through Health Canada, work with the provinces and territories to encourage the provision of age-appropriate education on sexual orientation and gender identity to children and youth of all age groups as well as parents and caregivers.
Recommendation 5
That the Government of Canada work with the provinces, territories and provincial health professional and regulatory bodies to establish a working group to identify ways to promote training and education of health care professionals about the health needs of sexual and gender minorities.
Consultation
Recommendation 6
That the Government of Canada, as part of its efforts to modernize its sex and gender information practices, consult with trans and non-binary individuals to establish best practices for collecting gender information and best identification options for non-binary people.
Data collection
Recommendation 7
That the Government of Canada, through Statistics Canada, consult with LGBTQIA2 organizations, researchers and LGBTQIA2 individuals to help the agency develop and include questions on sexual behaviour and sexual attraction in its surveys.
Recommendation 8
That the Government of Canada, through Statistics Canada, promote the oversampling of LGBTQIA2 populations in its surveys in order to produce samples of sufficient size for intersectional analyses.
Recommendation 9
That the Government of Canada, through Statistics Canada, include questions on sex at birth, gender identity and sexual orientation in all its surveys regardless of respondent age and on a priority basis in surveys on health, housing, income, homelessness and the use of alcohol, tobacco and other substances.
Research funding
Recommendation 10
That the Government of Canada, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, include sexual orientation and gender identity in the mandate of the Institute of Gender and Health to ensure sustained funding for research on the health of LGBTQIA2 communities.
Program funding
Recommendation 11
That the Government of Canada, through Health Canada and the Public Health Agency of Canada, establish a grants and contributions program focussing on the health of LGBTQIA2 communities to ensure that LGBTQIA2 organizations have their own funding stream to improve the health of these communities.
Target LGBTQIA2 communities within existing public policies and programs
Recommendation 12
That the Government of Canada establish an advisory committee on sexual and gender minorities to support departments in their efforts to implement LGBTQIA2 community-specific measures as part of the National Housing Strategy, Canada’s Homelessness Strategy, Canada’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, Canada’s Tobacco Strategy and the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy.
Recommendation 13
That the Government of Canada’s funding of shelter spaces consider the needs of trans and non-binary individuals for non-gendered options.
Health of trans people
Recommendation 14
That the Government of Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, provide coverage for the cost of hormones required for the health of trans people as part of the development of a national pharmacare program, as recommended by the Standing Committee on Health in its report entitled Pharmacare Now: Prescription Medicine Coverage for all Canadians.
Recommendation 15
That the Government of Canada work with the provinces and territories to ensure uniform coverage across Canada for gender affirming surgeries and other medical care for trans people.
Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections
Recommendation 16
That the Government of Canada, through Health Canada, expedite the licensing process for home test kits and self-screening tools for human immunodeficiency virus and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections.
Recommendation 17
That the Government of Canada, through the Public Health Agency of Canada and the National Advisory Committee on Immunization, encourage the provinces and territories to modify the recommended vaccination schedule for the human papillomavirus vaccine to achieve universal coverage, particularly for young men and adult men who have sex with men.
Recommendation 18
That the Government of Canada, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, provide prescription drug coverage of antiretroviral drugs used in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS at little or no cost to Canadians as part of the development of a national pharmacare program, as recommended by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in its report entitled Pharmacare Now: Prescription Medicine Coverage For All Canadians.
Recommendation 19
That the Government of Canada, through the Public Health Agency of Canada, update the Canadian Guidelines on Sexually Transmitted Infections and national resources to reflect the diversity of gender identities and sexual orientations and integrate the links between mental health and sexual health.
Recommendation 20
That the Government of Canada increase total funding for the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada to $100 million annually, as recommended in the 2003 report of the Standing Committee on Health entitled Strengthening the Canadian Strategy on HIV/AIDS.
Conversion therapy
Recommendation 21
That the Government of Canada work with the provinces and territories to eliminate the practice of conversion therapy in Canada and consider making further modifications to the Criminal Code.
Intersex people
Recommendation 22
That the Government of Canada hold consultations with intersex people and stakeholders on subsection 268(3) of the Criminal Code, which allows for surgeries on intersex people, and consider the postponement of genital normalizing surgeries on children until the child can meaningfully participate in the decision, except where there is immediate risk to the child's health and medical treatment cannot be delayed.
Blood, organ and tissue donation
Recommendation 23
That the Government of Canada end all discriminatory practices related to blood, organ and tissue donation for men who have sex with men and trans people and adopt donor screening policies that are evidence-based, gender neutral, and behaviour-based.