Mr. Speaker, continuing with my discussion about the needs of children, given what my hon. colleague has just expressed, the Canadian Bar Association says that Bill C-41 does not go far enough in protecting children and, in this specific instance, from poverty. It insists that the legislation does not ensure that there is no discrepancy in the standard of living of the custodial and non-custodial parent.
Equalizing the standard of living in post separation households is ultimately in the best interests of the children.
For example, under Bill C-41 if a father and a mother earned $45,000 and $25,000 a year, respectively, and the mother had custody of the two children and the cost of caring for the children was calculated at about $1,256 a month, each parent would pay $628 a month. But the father's standard of living would be higher than those of the mother and the children.
I ask my hon. colleague how can we respect this notion of equal and fair treatment of households with respect to the whole issue of poverty when we have a bill such as Bill C-41 that does nothing to look after the interests of children in this instance. I would like my hon. colleague to respond to that.