Mr. Speaker, I want to thank all hon. colleagues who participated in the debate.
It is an important issue to keep bringing before the House. This is the third time I have had this bill before the House. I want to address some of the comments made by hon. members.
I want to thank the member for Surrey Central for his kind remarks and support for the intent of the bill. I stress intent of the bill because certainly as a private member's item it is quite difficult for an individual bill to be as comprehensive as say, for instance, the special joint Commons-Senate committee on custody and access. This is certainly only one part of it.
I thank the Bloc member for Laval Centre for her participation. We worked very well together in a number of areas. She made reference to the freedom of individuals. This is one of the reasons why the Divorce Act has to be amended.
Presently, the Divorce Act is structured for individuals, individual rights for the parents. What it does not do and what the Commons-Senate committee said it should do, is shift the paradigm and start being child centred and in the best interests of the children. That is where we disagree on the thrust of divorce law.
I also point out that I had Quebec particularly in mind on this because the divorce rate in Quebec is around 70%, whereas it is less than 50% in the rest of Canada.
I also thank the member for Shefford for her comments. I know how hard she has worked on the special joint committee. She raised with me the issue of whether it was mandatory or obligatoire. In the report of the custody and access committee, recommendation No. 10 recommends that all parents seeking parenting orders be required to participate in an education program obligatoire; custody and access report. So the member should be clear, this is mandatory counselling. It is already in the existing law.
I think it is outstanding with the breadth of knowledge and experience that we have in this place that members such as the hon. member for Haliburton—Victoria—Brock can rise and share the experience he has obtained from his work before he came to the House. I really appreciate his words of encouragement and his support for some sort of constructive intervention.
The member for Scarborough Southwest is one of the most knowledgeable people regarding legislative crafting. I take his comments constructively. I hope the issue will continue to be alive. When I bring this issue back to the House, I will be sure to consult with the member to ensure that children will be foremost in the bill.
I understand the points the parliamentary secretary has raised. I understand that the government has already indicated that it is supportive of educational programs for children. I find that very encouraging.
Unfortunately, this bill is not votable. The important thing is that the bill raises the importance of children and the impact of divorce and family breakdown on them. I think it is always a good time to bring this issue before Canadians.
I want to conclude my comments simply by quoting from a review of the book The Divorce Culture by a woman who is quite experienced in this. She said:
You think your kids will bounce back from divorce? Guess again. Divorce is less like a cold for children than a serious chronic disease. You think you will eventually repartner and create a new family unit and kids will live happily ever after? Forget it....Not all children of divorce are doomed but in just about every way we have to measure such things, divorce has hurt children.
Again, I thank all hon. members. I look forward to bringing this bill back before the House and the Canadian people in the best interests of our children.