This is the system our judicial system survives under. This is one of the checks and balances we have.
When the opposition talks about the burden of proof, I'm not heartened by the fact that they believe it's okay.... I don't want to put words in their mouth, but they seem to believe it's okay, for certain instances, to not really be able to prove it, but as long as you feel like you may have been offended, there should be a punishment.
I don't believe that's what Canadians feel. It's not so much about how I feel about it. I'm speaking on behalf of the literally thousands and thousands of Canadians who have contacted me in my office on this legislation.
As I said when going through the chronology, this isn't something I just picked up last week and decided to put forward in a private member's bill. The fact of the matter is that I worked on this with Mr. Dykstra when he proposed it in 2007. I proposed it again in 2008. I note that this committee, in the minority context in which the government was outvoted, still found, through their study in 2008—Mr. Rathgeber was here, so he might be able to comment on it—that there were severe flaws with section 13, even in a minority context.
So when you go through the chronology of this and how extensive and how long a process this has been, I think we've done our due diligence. I think we've consulted with Canadians. I think we've consulted with the bureaucracy on it. I believe it's time we repealed section 13 of the Canadian Human Rights Act.
I actually believe Canadians as a whole are onside with this, no matter what aspect of the political spectrum you come from.