Mr. Speaker, I have a few quick words dealing with the concerns in the amendments brought forward by members from the Reform Party and the Bloc Quebecois.
The answer as to why the issue of custody and access as raised by the Reform Party is not being dealt with at this time is very quick and simple. Maintenance and enforcement of maintenance orders is a separate and distinct issue from that of custody and access. There are no experts within the land who would suggest a linkage of the two issues.
The work done on maintenance and the enforcement of maintenance has been completed and legislation has been drafted. The legislation has been brought forward. At this time work is ongoing on the issue of custody and access. When the work is completed, when our provincial counterparts have been consulted and the consultations are complete and the legislation dealing with custody and access is drafted, it will be brought forward.
With respect to the amendments that have been brought forward by the Reform Party, we must consider the problems the government was seeking to deal with and to cure by bringing forward this bill. We are dealing with a system of maintenance enforcement that is in excess of 50 years old. Certainly after that time and the amount of experience we have had with these provisions, we should be able to see what the problems are with the type of legislation that has existed.
It does not take very much observation to note that real problems exist with the present legislation. For instance, saying that people ask for their day in court is not really accurate. When people are dealing with divorce proceedings, they may be asking for their years in court.
Part of the problem the government is seeking to solve is to bring forward legislation that will reduce the amount of conflict through the court system by creating a system that brings greater certainty as a result, that is, by introducing tables. When there are tables there are fewer things for the litigant parties to be fighting over. It will reduce some of the litigation and tension that goes along with divorce. That is one of the things we seek to reduce.
In addition, if we look at the court decisions within provincial jurisdictions themselves and across the nation, support payments are varied. There is little consistency to them. That is another thing. By bringing forward the guidelines and asking the courts to look at the guidelines first and foremost, we would seek to reduce this disparity of award.
What is very important in this is that over the years we have seen who suffers when divorce happens. It is the custodial parent and the children. In many cases it is usually the mother and the children who are forced to live in poverty. The government and the Minister of Justice believe that women and children should not be forced to live in poverty.
The children should be the last parties who suffer when divorce unfortunately occurs. We must do our best to ensure that this country's children, our future, our hope for a brighter future, do not live in poverty and suffer the indignities, misfortunes and
unfair results of poverty that they have in the past. This is another thing the government is doing to alleviate those problems.
What does the Reform Party seek to do by its amendments? It seeks to put all this uncertainty back into the system. All of their amendments seek to reintroduce the concept of the needs of the child and the ability of the payer to pay. It is opening up the whole range of present options.
We have seen what the problems are with the present range of options, the inconsistency of the awards, the low quantum of awards which forces many of our young people and custodial parents, mostly women, to live in poverty. This is not acceptable in this country. That is why the federal government is bringing forward these guidelines to alleviate that problem.
I will deal with the concerns brought forward by the Bloc Quebecois. We hear the usual rhetoric about the paternalistic federal government imposing its will. Let us look at the facts. This is an area of federal jurisdiction from beginning to end. It is not an area of provincial jurisdiction. The federal government certainly not only has the right but the obligation to put forward legislation within its areas of jurisdiction.
This federal government in general and the Minister of Justice in particular are very concerned about ensuring that this legislation shows great regional sensitivity. If we look at the guidelines, they vary from province to province based on certain differences that exist within the provinces. That in and of itself shows the sensitivity and understanding of the central government to ensure that regional variations are taken into account.
In addition to that, under certain circumstances and in certain cases the provincial guidelines may be accepted. Where there is an area of federal jurisdiction there does need to be by law a degree of federal control over the ultimate applicability of the provisions. Again the Minister of Justice has gone a step further in acknowledging that where appropriate, provincial guidelines may be allowed in the field.
The government has made progress in many, many areas allowing the provincial governments to assume their rightful jurisdiction in many instances, to involve greater consultation even in areas of complete federal jurisdiction. The government has ensured that when it enacts legislation, its provincial partners are consulted. This legislation is no different. First, it very distinctly recognizes regional differences and second, in appropriate cases allows the possibility that regional guidelines may be accepted.
That is very important and it is what this country is all about. It is all about working together and doing things that make sense. It is not about saying that one party whether it is a province or the federal government just because one or the other is doing it makes sense. That road leads absolutely nowhere.
Ideology about who can do the job better is not helpful. Each of these issues must be decided on a case by case basis in dealing with a particular issue and particular circumstances which could be brought to bear on it. The government is doing an excellent job to ensure that we do have regional sensitivity.
In wrapping up, I would say that those issues brought forward by the Reform Party only lead once again to the possibility that the children of this nation and the custodial parents, mostly women, will be left in a state of poverty. Those are the very problems this legislation seeks to cure.
