Ann and I met recently when I travelled to Canada to testify in their National Citizens Inquiry. The topic was 'Are Our Children Safe In Canada?’
Watch the full chat
Who is Ann Gillies?
“Dr. Ann Gillies is a Canadian trauma specialist, pastor, author, activist, speaker, rancher, wife, mother, and grandmother. Ann’s skill in clear and brave communication is broad and expertly delivered across all avenues of media as well as in person. Ann is energetic, good-natured, focused, kind, and with spine to spare. Dr. Gillies is a lover of truth and human flourishing who courageously leads the charge against falsehoods and harms in society, despite, as well as because of the personal price she has paid. Dr. Ann Gillies is the real deal.” – Andre Van Mol, MD | Board-certified Family Physician
Co-chair, Committee on Adolescent Sexuality, American College of Paediatricians
Co-chair, Sexual and Gender Identity Task Force, Christian Medical & Dental Assoc.
On day one of the NCI, right after she gave her testimony, I had the privilege of meeting Ann and inviting her onto my podcast. What followed was a heartfelt, intelligent discourse, where we found similarities in our personal family stories and our ‘why’… along with recognising our joint deep desire to see healing in the many victims of childhood sexual abuse, incest and deep trauma.
The toughest of topics, addressed
We discuss the intersection of childhood trauma, sexual identity, and the challenges faced within the justice system. Our conversation highlights the importance of parental involvement in education and the systemic issues that hinder children's well-being.
Gillies' journey began with a great personal tragedy: Discovering that her first husband, whom she later learned was homosexual, had sexually abused their three children from infancy. This revelation propelled her into a 25-year career in counselling, focusing on adult survivors of chronic sexual abuse.
From therapy to advocacy
Her work evolved into advocacy, particularly against policies like Canada’s Conversion Therapy Bill C-4: An Act to amend the Criminal Code (conversion therapy), which outlaws discussions about the potential causes of or change in sexual orientation, especially when linked to trauma.
Elephants in the room
Gillies emphasised the connection between childhood sexual abuse and later sexual expression, including sharing her son’s experience, who identified as homosexual for years due to the abuse he endured (he describes it this ways way himself), only to later leave the LGBTQ community after trauma (not ‘conversion’) therapy.
She also critiqued systemic issues, including the justice system’s failure to convict her ex-husband on incest and sexual abuse charges, despite her son’s testimony, a reality that is all-too common. We also discuss the education system’s role in promoting ideologies that by design disconnect parents from children.
Damaged by the predators among us
Gillies highlighted how predators exploit trusted environments like churches and schools, and how current policies shield such behaviours under human rights laws. Her advocacy, detailed in her book Damaged By The Predators Among Us, calls for restoring a Judeo-Christian framework that upholds inherent human dignity and protects children from indoctrination and abuse.
She shares her son’s story: "He would say that the reason he was drawn to sex with men was because of that [sexual abuse by his father]. The only way he ever had love expressed to him from his father was sexual violation."
Dr. Gillies’ work underscores the urgent need for parents to be vigilant and challenge systems that obscure truth and harm children.
Visit Ann’s website, restoringthemozaic.ca, to learn more about her advocacy and order her books on kindle or paperback.
Ann’s National Citizen’s Inquiry testimony, June 19 2025
Watch Ann’s testimony here (timestamp: 4:50:45).
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