Mr. Speaker, for too long the government has poorly served the best interests of children and families. Last month we were shocked to see this government vote not just once but twice against increasing the protection of children from sexual predators. Just last week, by refusing to table meaningful changes to the Divorce Act, the government has once again shown that families are not its priority.
After years of consultation, millions of dollars, hundreds of witnesses, a joint House-Senate report and a justice department paper still thousands of Canadian children are being denied access to both parents in a winner-take-all justice system. When parents divorce they never divorce their children. New legislation is needed now to allow children of divorced parents to have a meaningful relationship with both parents and both sets of grandparents.
The government is stalling on this issue. It continues to ignore committee reports and recommendations, do its own thing and let the children suffer.