Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to have this opportunity today to contribute to the debate on Bill C-23, the modernization of benefits and obligations act.
This omnibus legislation is about fairness and about equality for all people in common law relationships, but since it still does not seem to be fair to some members of the House, I will take this opportunity to state what this bill is about and how we got to where we are now.
At its core, this bill is about ending discrimination. The courts have made it clear that benefits and obligations extended to common law opposite sex couples must be extended to common law same sex couples.
Recent court and tribunal cases under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act have found that federal policies and programs discriminate unfairly on the basis of sexual orientation.
On May 20, 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on the issue of spousal support in the case of M. v H. The spousal support provisions of the Ontario Family Law Act were found to be in violation of the charter and that they unfairly denied same sex unmarried couples legal treatment available to opposite sex unmarried couples.
After the M. v H. decision, the government of Ontario was given six months to amend its family law legislation. Following M. v H., most of the other provincial jurisdictions also announced that they too would amend their laws to gain compliance.
The purpose of the bill before the House today is to ensure equal treatment in federal legislation for same sex and opposite sex common law couples, while preserving the clear legal distinction between unmarried couples and married persons.
The bill uses the term spouse or common law partner, in French un époux ou conjoint de fait, where no neutral term could be found, such as survivor. The terms common law partner and conjoint de fait are defined and include both opposite and same sex couples.
Bill C-23 amends 68 statutes to ensure they encompass common law opposite sex couples and extend benefits and obligations granted to common law opposite sex couples to same sex couples and their family members.
This omnibus bill is about benefits and obligations. The following are a few examples of some of the benefits and obligations. It is useful to remind people that this is the substantive part of this bill.
Under the Old Age Security Act, a low income married person or a common law opposite sex partner may claim a guaranteed income supplement which is determined on the combined income of both spouses or partners. Bill C-23 would provide that eligibility to GIS for a common law same sex partner, based again on the combined income of both partners.
Under the Canada Pension Plan, the surviving spouse in a marriage, or the surviving partner in a common law opposite sex relationship, may qualify for survivor benefits, based on his or her spouse's or partner's contributions to the plan. Bill C-23 will provide that in similar circumstances. The surviving partner in a common law same sex relationship would also qualify for survivor benefits based on his or her partner's contributions to the plan.
Under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, there is a limit to the ability of married persons to transfer ownership of their home or property to their spouse prior to declaring bankruptcy. Bill C-23 will provide that that common law opposite sex and same sex partner will be subject to the same limitations on transferring ownership of their home or property to their partner prior to declaring bankruptcy.
Clearly Bill C-23 should be endorsed by all parties for it is a necessary piece of legislation. It has already been entrenched in provincial legislation and it is an end to discrimination and bringing fairness. That is something that all Canadians should support.