Madam Chair, I have a couple of points.
The language “gender expression” was injected into Canadian statutes in Bill C-16 in the last Parliament, of which Mr. Cooper, among others, was a member. Again, to purport that people aren't familiar with the term “gender expression” or what it denotes or defines is completely and patently inaccurate.
I reiterate that “gender expression” is used in the actual motion that we're debating right now, which is NDP-2 and my suggested changes to NDP-2. It's also used in NDP-3 and in the final amendment to the preamble. Again, to purport that there is somehow some element of surprise here is patently inaccurate in terms of the documents that are before the committee.
The third point is that somehow it has been imputed that having discussions with other members of Parliament and other parties is somehow untoward. I would put it as a bit of a straightforward fact that in a minority Parliament there are always discussions, as there should be, with other members of Parliament and other parties with respect to where consensus can be achieved.
What has transpired here is that we, as government members—my Liberal colleagues and I—saw an amendment, NDP-2, that referenced “gender expression” but also went beyond that. What we tried to do was find some common ground as to how to ensure that gender expression and the protections that follow therefrom are entrenched in this important piece of legislation, but all the time maintaining the careful balance that this legislation seeks to strike.
If there are those in this committee who have trouble with that sort of approach, I would put it to them that this violates the spirit of co-operative parliamentary functioning in a minority Parliament. Second, the bottom line is—and I hope that all of us believe this—that the rights of trans and non-binary Canadians are as important as those of all the other groups we seek to protect through this bill. That's the motivation behind proposing the amendment.
Thank you, Madam Chair.