Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to my colleague for Simcoe North.
I was very interested to hear what the hon. member had to say about the rather unusual turn of events by which this act has suddenly become the most pressing issue in the land today. This is certainly a pressing issue in the hon. member's riding, as it was in 1993, which is one of the reasons that we as a party did not put it in the red book.
There seems to be some confusion in the House and across the country as to the human rights act applying only to the provision of goods and services. Would the hon. member not agree that the CPP, spousal benefits, child tax credits, employment equity and the Divorce Act could be technically ruled on not by the House but by the Supreme Court of Canada or, even better, by Mr. Max Yalden, the commissioner of human rights? Would he agree that at some point down the road these items could well be included under this act?
The hon. member raised a couple of constitutional issues which were brought before the Supreme Court, one of them being the Mossop case. The court held that once Parliament passed a bill dealing with sexual orientation it would affect same sex marriages. Could the hon. member comment on that.