Mr. Speaker, let me just go back to what this bill is all about. This bill is about implementing a decision that was rendered by a court. Plain and simple, the court over and over again looked at this issue and has sent over and over again the same signal to the government that what we have to do is ensure that there is no discrimination.
To a large extent the institution of marriage is not affected at all. In fact, my colleague the minister has taken the extra step in order to make an unequivocal statement in the bill to say that for greater clarity, a marriage is between a male and a female.
I would say for any of my colleagues to try to take the debate from what it is into a new territory is not doing justice any good. Simply put, the bottom line is that the court is telling us, “You have been discriminating against people who are living in a conjugal relationship who are of the same sex”. We have a charter that clearly states unequivocally that we cannot discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation.
To that extent, as a parliamentarian I have to respect the law of the land. We have to implement what the law is telling us to implement.
I want to say to some of my colleagues that we have to get out of our shelters, go out in society and speak to our friends, speak to our families, speak to people we know in our constituencies and smell the roses. Societies have changed. I have no business trying to impose my beliefs on someone else. With regard to a person's a sexual orientation, it is not my business to tell them how to live. It is not my business at all. The law tells me that it is discrimination for me as a parliamentarian to impose my personal beliefs on others.
To that extent I think shifting the debate from where it belongs to something else is not right, it is not fair and it is not appropriate. We need to get the facts straight. It is no longer acceptable in our society to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation, their beliefs, their lifestyle, or on their background. We have to treat everyone fairly without any exception.
I do not understand why every few seconds my colleagues stand up on the other side of the House to try to lecture us on what is moral, rather than telling us really and truly what is their problem. Why can they not just realize that society nowadays is different than society was 500 years ago? Why do we have to continue to live in the dark ages of the 1200s? Why do we not move into the new century and do what is right?
In some cases I understand that it may not be popular for some of my colleagues to stand up and support what is right, but do you know what, Mr. Speaker? If I were in the shoes of any one of my colleagues, I would stand up and I would vote for this bill because that is the right thing to do.