Thank you, Madam Chair.
It sounds like Ms. Demers is concerned about the motivations behind the bill, and I want to give her some assurances about what happened.
I commend this committee for wanting to study this. The bill was actually brought about by.... I remember it well. It was my first election campaign. It happened in Edmonton. I don't remember the name of the individual, but there was a lady that came to one of the rallies, and her daughter was murdered. She was murdered while she was pregnant. It was very clear that she was experiencing the pain and suffering of not only the loss of her daughter, but the loss of a grandchild she was never going to see. That left a void in her heart as well. So that was the motivation. The motivation for this bill actually came from a woman who made her case, very poignantly, at a rally we had during the 2005-06 election campaign.
I do believe that given the right wording.... And I will defer to the expertise that's on this committee. I wouldn't propose to come here and tell you how you should or shouldn't study this.
I certainly commend this committee for at least looking into the impact that some of these things have on women, because the precipitating event for this was indeed brought up by a woman. If the right wording is found for this, I think it's an absolutely valid thing for this committee to study.