Justice Minister David Lametti says he will "look at" a federal policy that restricts gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, after CTV News exclusively reported on Wednesday that a gay man is taking the federal government to court over it.
"I've [been] made aware of the issue this morning when I read the papers, and certainly, we live in a charter society," Lametti told reporters on Parliament Hill on Thursday. "This is certainly something that we will look at."
Toronto man Aziz M. is challenging the constitutionality of the policy on the basis that it violates the right to equality in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Out of concern for his privacy, CTV News has agreed not to use his full name.
Before coming out as gay he was able to donate to a sperm bank and helped a lesbian couple start their family. But now, because of a Health Canada directive he alleges is discriminatory, he's no longer able to help other families do the same, despite a donor shortage in this country.
Under the "Safety of Sperm and Ova Regulation," sperm banks operating in Canada must deem any prospective sperm donors who have had sex with another man in the preceding three months as "unsuitable," despite all donations being subject to screening, testing and a six-month quarantine before they can be used.
While the directive does not mention transgender or non-binary donors, the policy also applies to individuals who may not identify as male but would be categorized as men under the directive.
It's a blanket policy that the man bringing the legal challenge says makes him feel like a "second-class citizen."
The lawsuit was filed in January with the Superior Court of Ontario and Lametti, as the Attorney General of Canada, is the respondent.
Gregory Ko, who is co-council on the case and a partner at law firm Kastner Lam LLP, said that the Attorney General has assigned a lawyer in their Toronto office to respond to the litigation.
In a statement provided to CTV News on Wednesday, Health Canada said that it is committed to non-discriminatory policies, and that the current sperm donor screening criteria was informed by the available scientific and epidemiological data, as well as national standards.
Given the recent changes to the screening criteria for blood donors, Tammy Jarbeau, senior media relations adviser for Health Canada, told CTV News that the federal health agency "will explore whether similar updates may be appropriate" in the context of sperm donation.
