Madam Speaker, I have listened carefully to the debate throughout the day and I agree with some of the previous speakers who talked about this as being a difficult and moral issue.
I do not for a minute believe some of the material that has been coming from the members to my left because I submit that the bill is not about special rights for anyone. It is fundamentally about fairness and equal rights. It is a recognition that homosexual individuals pay into benefit plans and, until very recently, have been denied the benefits that should flow from those plans.
A good deal of discussion on Bill C-23, the modernization of benefits and obligations act, has indicated that somehow this is a judge-made law. It is important to recognize that the charter of rights and freedoms, which was introduced in 1982 and came into full force and in 1985, was achieved by the prime minister and nine of the ten premiers in April, 18 years ago this month. It was later ratified by the House of Commons and all the legislatures, with the exception of the province of Quebec.
Section 15(1) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states:
Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
As I say, that law was passed by parliamentarians in the provinces and in the House of Commons. Under our laws it is interpreted by the courts, which is fair. I think most citizens would find it reasonable that somebody has to interpret it and it is the courts and eventually the Supreme Court of Canada. Again it says that one cannot discriminate on the basis of sex, along with a number of other categories.
As was pointed out by the member for Hochelaga—Maisonneuve, in the case of M and H there was a court decision. The supreme court ruled eight to one that there should be a division of assets. In my opinion Bill C-23 will ensure compliance with supreme court rulings like that in M and H which call for an end to discrimination based on sexual orientation. The court has ruled simply that where benefits and obligations are extended to common law heterosexual couples, these same benefits and obligations must be extended to Canadians involved in long term same sex relationships.
I was intrigued with a book that I picked up for the first time last night. Justice, Not Just Us is written by Gerald Vanderzande who is described on the jacket of the book as follows: “What he has to say is always moving and compelling. His words transcend the boundaries between denominations and faith communities. In urging us to do God's work here and now he demonstrates the true potential of contemporary religion. If only its practitioners learned to act in unison”.
Gerald Vanderzande has something to say on this issue and I would like to refer to it briefly. He writes for an organization called Citizens for Public Justice. He said:
Let us now consider Citizens for Public Justice's position on legal-equality rights for gays and lesbians. The government encounters a variety of human relationships in our society, including heterosexual marriages and other social relationships—. When a government does not recognize, in law or public policy, the reality of other, non-marital relationships in our society, then, whether we like it or not, the courts are forced to reinterpret the meaning and scope of marriage within the existing legislation. That means that other relationships, even though they are non-heterosexual and non-marital, must be defined—
He goes on to say in this interesting document:
—all people are treated fairly when it comes to the recognition of certain civil rights and freedoms and the provision of certain services and programs—. How can we, without discriminating against certain people—recognize the constitutional and other rights of people who live in other “permanent” relationships?
He goes on to talk about what has happened in the far distant past. We have had some references to that as well. Mr. Vanderzande said:
Let me remind you that, as I understand it, in the Old Testament Scriptures, most marriages were “common law”. There was not what we now call a civil ceremony ensuring that people had made a formal vow. There was not a public declaration of mutual commitment before a civil authority. In fact, in the Scriptures, the father (the patriarch) of the family often decided who was to marry whom. In a culture that has moved on under a variety of influences, the government now faces new social realities. Government is not there to decide what is theologically correct. It is there to decide what is publicly just.
He concludes in this portion of his book:
If we agree that religion (faith) is at the heart of life, and if we agree that the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms rightly protects everyone's basic beliefs and every institution's religious or ideological convictions, and that the government should not interfere with a citizen's basic beliefs and an institution's freedom of expression, then can we not with respect to various human relationships provide equal protection in terms of public policy for those who live in a non-marital, non-heterosexual relationship?
In this important debate the words that Gerald Vanderzande has included in his book Justice, Not Just Us are very significant.
I appreciate that because of time allocation, with which we disagree as well, time is running out. I did want to comment before I take my seat that I disagree fundamentally with my colleagues to the left and members on the Liberal benches opposite who talk about polls and that this is important because they have received hundreds of thousands of petitions stating that 68% of the people that were polled by Angus Reid are in favour of this. On something as fundamental as this we have to be seen to be doing what is right and not what is necessarily politically popular or unpopular.