Madam Speaker, in our caucus and in the House, the hon. member for Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup—Témiscouata—Les Basques is an asset. He makes a brilliant contribution to our debates. I hope the Minister of Justice has understood these recommendations, and that she also understands what I am saying.
I have two questions for my colleague. Does he think it is possible that the pattern of lack of banking services in Canada is a reflection of the geographic distribution of poverty?
I am very disappointed with the Chair, Madam Speaker, but not with you in particular. I am very disappointed that my amendments, which had been accepted previously, have not been accepted this time. Some day, in fact, we should discuss with the Chair about the excessive role given to traditions from the United Kingdom. But that is another matter.
Does my colleague agree with me that as parliamentarians we cannot really fight poverty if we do not secure access to financial services for all Canadians? I am sure that in Alberta, where the Minister of Justice was re-elected with a comfortable majority, banks are also closing some branches.
Just this morning, I tabled an antipoverty bill, which brings me to my second point. I hope we will be able to count on the support of the Minister of Justice—who is spending a lot of time in the gymnasium with me—to amend the role of the Canadian Human Rights Commission and to recognize that social condition must be included in the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Does my colleague believe that including “social condition” as a prohibited ground of discrimination could make a difference for the poor in this country?
With the unanimous consent of the House, the justice minister could be given two minutes to answer.