Action Canada for Sexual Health and Rights is pleased to submit this briefing outlining the importance of Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) in ensuring the health of LGBTQ+ people throughout the lifecycle to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health in the context of your ongoing study of LGBTQ+ Health. This briefing provides a detailed argument regarding the urgent need to the Federal Government to assume a leadership role in both the promotion and protection of CSE for all students in Canada. This brief presents the evidence base that locates CSE as a core component of health for all people, and particularly for LGBTQ+ people. Furthermore, it will reiterate and confirm the fact that CSE is a human right. Under international human rights law, the federal government has an obligation to ensure that for all young people in Canada, can exercise and claim this right, regardless of where they live.
Action Canada calls on the House of Commons Standing Committee to recognize the critical importance of CSE in addressing the health needs of LGBTQ+ people. A complete set of concrete legislative and policy recommendations are listed in the final section of this brief.