Thank you, Mr. Chair.
There's a lot to unpack from this filibuster that we were promised we would not have to sit through, because we were told by our Conservative friends that they intended to move forward on this and not delay it unreasonably. It's good to know where we are.
I want to begin at the very beginning, in fact, with what Ms. Damoff said at the beginning. On January 29, we're going to be marking the anniversary of the shooting at the Quebec City mosque. I want to remind everyone that the weapon that was used for the heinous murders committed there was acquired legally. Despite those who may believe that's it's okay to consider these things outliers and that we shouldn't legislate to stop outlier events, that attack and others like it have caused irreparable damage to communities, not just in Quebec City but Muslim communities across this country. When we do talk about the impact of firearms violence, we can't forget why this legislation is so very important.
Ms. Dancho spoke about her grandfather, and I want to express my condolences to her. I was very close to my grandfather. These are important memories for us to hold on to.
I want to share something that my grandfather taught me, as somebody who was very lucky to have come to this country. He said that the beauty of Canada is that Canada evolves. Canada is a dynamic country, and Canada's evolution as a country has made it better. When Ms. Dancho talks about Canadian culture, I think it's very important to know that Canadian culture evolves over time, as we embrace the richness of its diversity, as we embrace the richness of the diversity that we learn from indigenous communities in this country, from those who have been here since Mr. Lloyd's family came from the 13 colonies, and from when my family came 50 years ago.
When we talk about the evolution of this country, let us remember that there was a time in this country when women couldn't vote, when indigenous people couldn't vote, when indigenous people needed passes to come off reserves, when we imposed head taxes, when same-sex marriage was not allowed and when racial segregation was the order of the day. I think it's really important for us to understand the importance of evolving, and that we learn from the past to make a better future.
In my opinion, this legislation and this amendment do that. The beauty of our legislative process, Mr. Chair, is that, if the Conservatives think this is a terrible amendment, they have the ability in this minority Parliament to work with two other parties to defeat this amendment. That is their right. That is the beauty of this parliamentary process. It is not to hold up the will of Canadians. It is their opportunity to work with other parties to defeat this amendment if they don't like it, but my goodness, Mr. Chair, we are here to try to save lives. We are here to try to do what is right. We are not here to take away weapons from hunters who use the weapons that, as Ms. Damoff rightly stated, are available for the purpose of hunting.
This may be a surprise to many on the Conservative side, but there are hunters who support this legislation. There are those of us who may not be gun owners who understand that, for those gun owners for whom this is important, their rights are important as well.
What this bill does is very different from what the Conservatives are asserting it's doing. I also want to note the glee with which Conservative staffers were literally bouncing around in the hallways thanking people for how much fodder this was going to create for fundraising opportunities. I am surprised and disappointed that the party that purports to be in support of law and order would use a debate around keeping Canadians safe as an opportunity to raise money. I think we should all take a good, long look and reflect on what that actually says about the nature of the conversation here.
Mr. Lloyd rightly spoke about the importance of freedoms, but it's very striking to me that, when Mr. Lloyd spoke about being a Canadian patriot and about rejecting revolution, I didn't see him speaking about rejecting the convoy, rejecting his colleagues who were there—