I have several comments to make.
I think Ms. Levman's response is absolutely accurate. I think it strains credulity to think that a conversation between a parent and a child about what to wear on a given day—conversations that I have with my children on any given day, usually related to the weather—would actually amount to a treatment, service or practice pursuant to the Criminal Code. There is an axiom that most lawyers on this committee would recall, which is that the law does not concern itself with trivial things. I would go so far as to say that's quite a trivial concern.
With respect to many of the things that have been raised here by Ms. Findlay and Mr. Moore, first of all, I think Mr. Moore may have misspoken when he said that it sounds like it's narrowing the scope. This amendment is not narrowing; it is expanding. Let's be crystal clear about that.
Second, there was some reference to whether department officials were imputing motive or speculating about why such an amendment would be made. The objective of this amendment is to capture exactly what was articulated, which is different types of therapy masquerading as something they are not, to try to escape criminal liability. That is informed by the testimony we heard from many witnesses, and that is critical. I think Mr. Moore referred to the fact that we need to hear from more experts. I would put it to him that we actually already have.
I would put it to him that I think it's a bit erroneous to assert that somehow we are being surprised by the insertion of “gender expression” at clause-by-clause. Repeated amendments, including my own to the preamble, refer to the term “gender expression”. The term is known to committee members in terms of already being in the clause-by-clause package. It's known in law under the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act, and it is certainly known to all of us who went through the committee study, because we heard it repeatedly from witnesses. On that basis, I would think we are more than ready to exercise a decision as to whether this amendment is worthy of pursuit and whether it should be carried into legislation.
Thank you, Madam Chair.