Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Congratulations on your bill. I know it's always an important moment when you get to do your job as a legislator. I have often said to my whip and my leader that there should be two hours a day for private members' business. That's one way for us to do our job well and to represent people in the House of Commons. Unfortunately, the balance between government business and private members' bills has not yet been struck.
We, in the Bloc Québécois, are mostly supportive of your bill, although we are still concerned by the fact that family policy has to remain with the provinces, in our opinion. Quebec, in particular, has a civil law tradition, and we would like divorce to come under Quebec jurisdiction. If legal separation and marriage are part of Quebec civil law, it would be logical for divorce to be too.
That said, the courts currently take into account the rights of the child—that's fundamental—and unless there's any criminal record, history of poor parenting or deprivation of an attribute of parental authority, the courts generally tend to favour giving access to both parents.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but basically, the amendment you're suggesting potentially involves two cases. The first is where a court judgment denies one parent access to the child, and the second is on a review application because the parent is in the terminal stage, in the hope that a special arrangement can be made, for more frequent visits or visits at other times with the father or mother who has a degenerative disease.
Are those the two scenarios that a person unfortunately suffering from a degenerative disease could rely on under amended section 16?