Mr. Speaker, I did not prepare in depth notes today because I was not aware that I would have an opportunity to speak. However, I am very pleased to stand and support this bill by the hon. member for Mission-Coquitlam.
I have had numerous calls and responses from people in Nova Scotia. Certain things come up frequently from the parents and grandparents in particular who are for the most part over the age of 50. These people through life experiences, through living and through working, have accumulated a great deal of experience in nurturing, guidance, sharing and loving. It is that experience that quite often the child of the second generation needs.
Very often in many instances we see that the parents, whether through divorce, through emotional breakups, through living situations, arrangements that are so different and complex today, are so directly involved with the children through emotion and sometimes the direct link. It does not give them the vision to see the grandparents' needs and it does not give them the opportunity. The grandparent is at an arm's length so to speak and they can look at situations quite often more objectively than in an emotional situation in which two parents or two partners are having difficulty with children.
Although this does come under federal jurisdiction, and the hon. member from the Bloc has pointed out the complexities that might arise because of this and because of family law in some provinces, I believe that we can work on those details, that we can look at this bill in depth and bring in the changes or the amendments, whatever is required, to make it more workable, more effective.
It is imperative. I have seen, as I am sure all of my colleagues would have seen, throughout our provinces that today we have so many young people raising children in isolation quite often without access to the experience of the older population of both men and women who have lived long and have that experience of living and working and have the wisdom of nurturing and sharing without the biases and the direct emotional interference that the first generation often has to combat.
I have recommended this in my own province. Quite often the young women today having babies and being isolated in apartments on their own have no guidance. They have no connection to those older people in society who have the wisdom of common sense, love and nurturing. This is a fault in our society.
I believe this bill would bring in a closer connection to that whole realm of family and bringing love, nurturing, guidance and common sense of old wisdom that just comes from raising a family.
This bill might go a long way in not only having grandparents' rights to the children but more than anything serving the children who need to know the love and nurturing and wisdom of living.
A survey was done in one of the American schools asking the children how many of them could cite their grandparent's name. It was unbelievable the high number of children who could not even tell their grandmother's or their grandfather's name. To me, that is quite deplorable. It is a fact of society today.
I believe we are on the right track with this bill in helping society, in helping parents to get an added abundance of love and nurturing that can come from the grandparents' side.