This bill will call for the inclusion of social condition among prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act. The member for Outremont studied law, but that is not where he spent most of his time, because I am told he skipped his social law courses. He took criminal law, was very keen on business law, but he was not there for social law.
Had he taken the social law courses, he would know that social condition led, in Quebec, to the improvement of the Quebec charter of human rights, the most thorough legislation in Canada, which has contained provision on social condition since 1977. This has led to a significant improvement in the situation of people on social welfare, single parents and persons with disabilities.
Imagine, as we speak, there are eight provinces with provisions on social condition, and the federal government is one of the last bastions permitting discrimination on such grounds. We will not tolerate that. I would hope that the member for Ottawa—Vanier will join with the Bloc Quebecois to speak with an enlightened voice for once.
We have a whole lot of solutions to propose on the subject of poverty. All we ask is a little attention. We do not think this is too much.
I would like those watching us this morning, with their orange juice and toast, to know that we have been sitting since Tuesday evening at 5:00 p.m., that we have been the voice of the workers, and that we will not let these people be deprived of the right to collective bargaining. We will continue to be this voice in Parliament.
We know that you cannot count on the ministers, and I do not pay them tribute.