Mr. Speaker, the human rights amendment under Bill C-33 is a very divisive issue among all members of Parliament. It has been described as two little words to include sexual orientation in the Canadian Human Rights Act as a prohibited ground for discrimination.
If it is just two little words, why is there so much acrimony in this place? Why is the public reacting so strongly? Why are people in this place who were my friends and colleagues no longer speaking to me? It is because I have a different position.
Why have so many people come to me and accused me of discriminating against some group because I have a position? Why have so many people demonstrated intolerance toward my position when they are trying to promote tolerance?
A lot of misinformation has gone into this debate so far today. People have said things, using carefully worded statements and clichés, that tend to evoke emotion and applause. If it was just two little words, if it was simply to incorporate into the Canadian Human Rights Act what the courts have already said it interprets as being there even though it is not, it is not just two little words. It is much more.
Policy by its very nature is discriminatory. In Canada, all are equal under the law. Over time, policy changes have created a complex network of exceptions that extend special status to certain groups or individuals. The extension of any significant special status has been a reflection of society's need to ensure its survival and positive development.
To give an example, the laws of Canada discriminate in favour of aboriginal people. They discriminate in favour of seniors. They discriminate in favour of children and families. They discriminate in favour of those who do not make as much money as others by our rules.
Policy, by its very nature, is discriminatory. This is positive discrimination, reflecting certain circumstances. It is not negative discrimination. That is the crux of the issue.
The traditional family being father, mother and children has been the beneficiary of many policy developments over the years. We discriminate against all others by policies that declare special status for the family, which indeed is part of the preamble of this bill. We further extend to family extra benefits not available to single Canadians or those living in other than a traditional family relationship.
Examples of those benefits extended to the family include such things as survivor pension benefits. Immigration rules allow special treatment for family reunification and sponsoring couples. There is a tax credit for a stay at home spouse. There are child tax benefits and a child care expense deduction. There are many examples of how federal laws discriminate in favour of the family or, as others would say, how we discriminate against others on the basis of some characteristic.
The question of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation continues to be debated. However, in the light of the foregoing, the question may be very fundamental. Do we want to continue to discriminate in favour of the family? That is the question. Once answered, the actions to be taken will come into focus.
If society continues to hold the family in high esteem and reaffirms its special status, we will choose to continue to discriminate in favour of the family. That also means that we cannot amend the human rights act to make sexual orientation a prohibited ground for discrimination. To do so would deny the family its special status by providing a legal basis for others to seek and obtain the same special status and benefits extended to the traditional family.
If, on the other hand, society no longer supports the special status for the family and no longer wishes to discriminate in favour of the family, there are two options to address the change in our societal value. One option would be to eliminate all discriminatory benefits extended to the family. This approach effectively would seek to put all Canadians on the same footing, regardless of what type of relationship, if any, one might have chosen.
We simply would be treated under all the laws of Canada as individuals without dependents. Various laws would have to be changed and nothing would be relevant beyond the individual and their individual rights. The definition of the family would cease to have relevance and many Canadians would cease to receive discriminatory benefits. The impact on people and the finances of the country are obvious.
The second option would be to amend the human rights act to make sexual orientation a prohibited ground for discrimination. This would provide, I believe, the legal basis for challenges to all the laws of Canada, particularly as they relate to the special status of the family and the special benefits extended to them and denied to others. The Supreme Court decision in the Egan case referred to the concept as "permitted discrimination" but the human rights amendment would solve that interpretation.
It is also likely that other Canadians who do not share the special status of the family will also make challenges to our laws to seek the same level and value of benefits. Ultimately, all Canadians will be eligible for all benefits now enjoyed by the family and anyone else. We would, in fact, be equal under the law and all would receive equivalent benefits extended by any and all government policies. To do otherwise would discriminate against someone. Again, the impact on people and finances would be clear.
Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is most often discussed in a negative context of denying or violating rights. Common examples of this discrimination are related to accommodation, services, employment or membership in an organization. These cases generally refer to matters between an individual and a group or other individual. As members know, these are all under provincial jurisdiction and are specifically covered by the provincial human rights laws.
The Canadian Human Rights Act relates to everything under federal jurisdiction, including criminal law, pensions, divorce, health, immigration and income taxation as well as those companies, about 10 per cent, who are covered under the federal labour legislation. In the main, discrimination in these areas refers to a matter between the individual and the government rather than with another individual.
We are all equal under the law according to the charter and crimes motivated by bias, prejudice or hate already warrant stiffer penalties pursuant to Bill C-41. An amendment to the federal act which would add sexual orientation as a prohibited ground for discrimination would likely require fundamental rethinking of our societal values. If we positively discriminate in favour of the family, we must by definition be negatively discriminating against all others on the basis of some status or choice of marital status. The question ultimately becomes, is it possible to control or limit the consequences of making the proposed amendment to the human rights act?
I would like to refer to a letter received by all members of Parliament from the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. In it the archbishop indicates the principles and concerns of the Conference of Catholic Bishops while supporting the fundamental human rights and recognizing that everyone is to be treated with dignity and respect. He registers a concern that the proposed amendments will facilitate claims for same sex benefits. The bishops have asked, can we deal with the same sex benefits issue?
The chairman of the Human Rights Commission, Max Yalden, said in his March 1996 report that if we give a benefit to a heterosexual couple and deny it to a same sex couple, that is discrimination. The amendment refers to discrimination. The issue of same sex benefits refers to discrimination. There is clearly a linkage here which causes me some question, causes me some doubt, causes me reasonable doubt.
I want to conclude my remarks by speaking directly to the Prime Minister. Mr. Prime Minister, can we assure Canadians that those people who are presently exposed by not having sexual orientation as a prohibited grounds for discrimination that they will be covered but it will not extend same sex benefits? Can we tell them that the linkages that there appears to be between same sex benefits and otherwise will not cause a problem? Can we assure Canadians that the family will in fact remain where it is?
Mr. Prime Minister, I have questions, I have doubts, I have reasonable doubts and in the legal principle of Canada I cannot support this legislation, with due respect.