Mr. Speaker, I feel compelled to present every petition from my constituents that conforms with Standing Order 36 regardless of my personal views.
I therefore present a petition requesting that this Parliament maintain the status quo regarding the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act to avoid any semblance of societal approval for same sex relationships.
The petition, which erroneously states that Canada has a human rights code, is identical to many petitions that have been presented in this Parliament over the past several months. I suspect they are part of an organized campaign to deny a significant group of Canadians equal rights.
I do not believe that we as parliamentarians have the authority to extend or deny any person's right on the basis of petitioners' personal convictions or beliefs. We have the important responsibility of ensuring that all Canadians have the same rights. Without this none of us has any true guarantees.