I don't argue with what you're saying, although that's not consistent with what your backgrounder said in May of this year. Your backgrounder suggested there were no gaps and currently everything would be covered under existing legislation.
On November 27, 2012, at the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, Mr. Ian Fine, acting secretary general, Secretary General's Office, Canadian Human Rights Commission, stated, “the commission, the tribunal, and the courts view gender identity and gender expression as protected by the Canadian Human Rights Act.” He went on further to say, “if someone experiences discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression, they are currently protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act.”
On June 3, 2013, before the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights, David Langtry, the acting chief commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, stated, “the tribunal and the courts view gender identity and gender expression as protected by the Canadian Human Rights Commission”. He also went on to state, “When someone experiences discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression, they are protected under the Canadian Human Rights Act. The commission already accepts complaints that raise transgender issues.”
Minister, in May of this year, you were participating in CTV's Power Play with Don Martin. In response to a question regarding legal recourse, you stated, “There is recourse under the Canadian Human Rights Act in terms of sexual orientation.”
By your own admission, this bill doesn't change anything. Why have you chosen to put forward a bill that really doesn't add a lot of value and for which the meaningfulness is minimal?