Mr. Speaker, I already mentioned at two or three places in my speech because I wanted to be very clear, that I do not believe that Canadians, certainly not myself and certainly not our party, will accept discrimination against people who have a job, wherever that job might be. They could be sales clerks or whoever.
We say that the hiring and firing of people should be based on merit. If they can do the job, then that should be the criteria. We have said that consistently. Any statements to the contrary are simply untrue.
When it is a statement of intent for what we would like to see for Canada, on everything from immigration to hiring practices to policies of the federal government Reformers believe that it should be racially neutral, colour blind and gender blind. It should assume that all people are equal before the law.
When they are not treated equally then they should have the opportunity, and they do, to take the matter to a court and say: "I have been discriminated against based on my gender, my colour-", or whatever, and, "They would not rent me an apartment because I am black".
When that happens, I say throw the book at them. They cannot be discriminated against. That is something that we have been consistent about.
One has to use these words carefully because maybe they have been overused. How many of us, I would think probably on both sides of the House, have used the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. who said: "I dream of a day when the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners can sit down together at the table. I dream of a day when my son will be judged, not on the colour of his skin but on the content of his character".
Let us move away from the idea of grouping people, selecting them out and categorizing them, putting them in slots, in pigeon holes and designing programs based on something that cannot be changed. If we were to treat one another equally, we would be far ahead of what we have here before us today. I urge all members to think in terms of the equality of all Canadians, not in terms of dividing up people in groups.