Yes. Actually I have already talked to a Christian counsellor who I know in Calgary. As many of you know, a bylaw that is written in a similar way to the federal law is already in place in Calgary. One Christian counsellor I talked to has already said that she's very scared of talking about this with her clients. Another pastor told me that she was very scared of even returning the calls of people asking for support from people of her own faith.
So the chilling effect is real. On being able to access this service, I disagree with the member, Mr. Maloney, because this bill says that I cannot access or pay for a service that everyone else can, based solely on my sexual orientation and faith. That's outright discrimination.
I'm actually pretty saddened and appalled that people who speak about being able to express and respect the diversity of this country would completely ignore what I just said as a person who benefited from this counselling and freely chose to get it.
I represent dozens of people who agree with me on this, and we have a right to at least be acknowledged that we exist. The last testimony we just heard basically said that we don't, and that's sad for a group of people who want to argue for diversity.