Madam Speaker, I am pleased to rise to speak to Bill C-23. I agree with my hon. Tory colleague who just spoke when he asked what was the rush. We have missed an opportunity to do a couple of things the government neglected to do.
First and foremost, on June 8, 1999, parliament passed a motion that we should affirm the definition of marriage in legislation. There is not a more perfect opportunity to do that than right now. Whether in this bill or in another, this is when it should have been done.
I have heard members of the NDP, including the member for Winnipeg North Centre, mention the Reform Party. It was almost every 10th word in her speech. I state on the record right now that my colleagues and I are not opposed to making sure that people are treated equally and fairly, including people of co-dependence, heterosexual and homosexual. That is what we want to try to do. They should be getting benefits but the bill does not do that.
The bill is based on sexuality. All the way through it, it says that relationships must be conjugal. How is that defined? What does it mean? One of the two biggest issues with the bill is the definition of marriage. Parliament sent a very clear signal, as did Canadians, that marriage needs to be defined in legislation. The federal government has been remiss. That has been completely overlooked. The bill is being rammed through for a whole host of reasons. People try to paint us as being against equality, that we do not support it. That is absolute nonsense.
The member for Edmonton Southwest put forward a very good solution in registered domestic partnerships. It may need fine-tuning but I applaud him for it. Not everyone in my caucus would completely agree with him but he had a lot of support. He put forward a solution wherein we could define marriage and benefits could have been paid out but not on the basis of sex as the bill does. Let us not make any mistake or have any illusions about what it is.
The member for Miramichi said on June 2, the the days leading up to the definition of marriage, that anything based upon sex was the poorest way to define a relationship whether it be the same sex or the other sex. I could not agree more. That is my frustration. Some people are trying to suggest that we do not want to see equality. That is not true at all.
There are many things the government should have done but it did not. It missed the most fundamental task that parliament directed it to do. That is what frustrates me. I absolutely believe in no uncertain terms that marriage is between a man and a woman. It is not between two men as some people would like to suggest and have argued for. Marriage is between a man and a woman, and that is all it can be. A very clear signal could have been sent by defining that in legislation, but the government did not do it.
I am not so sure I have confidence in the government when it obviously leaves something out that was so easy to include. What is its underlining motive? I ask that after being a member of parliament since 1997 and watching what goes on in the House.
There are many more important issues that need to be dealt with right now. We have seen what is going on in HRDC, which is absolutely scandalous and is throughout many other departments. What does that have to do with this legislation? It is very important. It deals with the money of all taxpayers. I have not seen one word of legislation to deal with the problem that arose last fall.
There are problems in justice and in immigration. We saw the problem with migrants. We are hurting genuine immigrants who are applying to come here through proper channels and refugees who have a legitimate claim to come to here like people from Kosovo, East Timor and such places who are absolutely blocked. Have we seen any legislation to deal with those problems? We are on the eve of another season of migrants coming in and there is not one word in legislation. The Minister of Justice tabled Bill C-23 when there are many other pressing issues for Canadians.
We have backlogs in the courts. Things could be done to speed up the process and ensure that people are getting justice. We could ensure that victims are getting due process in relation to criminal charges and that they are protected.
There is the area of sexual predators abusing young children. Once they are released into society it is paramount that we make sure that our children are safe. Have we seen legislation brought forward? I think there has been a little in that area, but have we seen it passed? No. So much could have been done, but government for whatever reason has introduced a bill that was not done very well at all. That is why I will vote against it. We have missed an opportunity. The bill will be open to challenges because it was not done well.
Other solutions could have been put forward, but the government has missed an opportunity to define marriage although it was directed to do so by the Parliament of Canada. I appreciate that it was an opposition supply day motion but it was passed by parliament. Does it take parliament seriously or not? Or, is it just shuffled under the rug? That is why I have to question its sincerity about the bill and its underlying motive. Why did it do that? Why would we trust anything it wants us to do? Government members stand and say it is about equality, but many other relationships are not included.
My concern is the record of the government. I would be the first to stand and vote in favour of a bill that gives benefits to all Canadians without discrimination. There are other relationships that may not be conjugal, that may not involve sex. Why should they not be entitled to the same benefits?
A member talked about RRSP contributions and about what happens if one dies. I know two friends who are not in a sexual relationship. Should they not be able to have these same benefits? Of course they should. Why should they not? I personally know people who have been in relationships for 20 or 30 years where there is absolutely no conjugal or sexual relationship but they are very much dependent on it.
I know of another example of a priest in Chilliwack who resides with another person. They share a car. They are very dependent on each other and have been for years and years, but they are not in any conjugal relationship. They would not qualify under the bill. That is discriminating against them.
In summary, the government has missed a real opportunity to define marriage as instructed by parliament. It has failed in that regard. That is where I have to question what are its real motives. I believe in equality for all Canadians. I would be the first to stand here and say it. Again I commend the member for Edmonton Southwest for putting forward a positive solution which government ignored. That solution would have been far better than Bill C-23. I will have to vote against the bill.