Madam Speaker, I commend the previous speaker and all members who spoke, in particular the hon. member for Red Deer. I would indicate at the outset that, yes, the Progressive Conservative Party will wholeheartedly support his efforts.
Like the previous speaker, I certainly commend the extraordinary effort he has put in on behalf of his constituent, Lisa Dillman, on behalf of her children and on behalf of all children whom the bill aims to protect. It would result in a very common sense, concrete enactment of change to the Divorce Act to protect children, to protect them from being subjected to the emotional trauma of having to confront a parent in prison knowing that their parent, sadly, had committed an offence that was a danger to them or a danger to another person.
It is clear from the personal circumstances that have been laid out in this case that there is tremendous emotional damage done to a child who has to confront these circumstances, who has to be brought into a prison environment in any circumstance, but to have a judge interpret the letter of the law in such a way as this, that the visitation is to occur in a prison, is totally inappropriate.
This enactment is aimed at amending that law. The legislation would give the child in the custody of one parent the ability to opt out of or suspend a previously enacted court order for visitation, that is to say, it would do away with the requirement of one parent bringing children to see the other parent while that person was serving a period of incarceration for any offence under the criminal code in which there was a child as a victim or for any certain specified sexual offences under the criminal code.
It is trite to say that the impact of a sexual assault on a child is everlasting. It is a life sentence for that child to come to grips with. I think that the personal circumstances outlined in this case clearly referenced the fact that the children are continuing to receive counselling as a result of the trauma and the emotional distress that came to them by virtue of this visit.
The hon. member for Red Deer made a very passionate and very emotional case for the reasoning behind this effort on his part. It is a very good one. It is completely in line with what we should be doing in every instance to try to enhance the health, welfare and emotional and moral needs of children.
This is a very straightforward occasion on which we can do something. I was very touched, as were other members, by the personal words that were penned by Lisa Dillman on the back of the cards sent to members of parliament.
She stated in that letter, which I will quote directly from:
I feel confident that you will do the right thing and protect this country's children from the abuse that the current legal system forces them to be subjected to and victimized by.
That is a direct plea to all of us, one that we must heed. I know that the hon. member for Saint John, New Brunswick, very much embraces those same ideals and wants to do everything within her power and everything within our power to help protect children from this type of victimization, mental or physical.
This law, Lisa's law, very appropriately named, comes about as a result of what happened to her children, but they have turned a horrific circumstance into a positive action that would help benefit others, that would help protect others from being subjected to the same thing.
I had a law professor named Victor Goldberg who used to say that bad facts made bad law, yet I would suggest that this is an instance where bad facts could make good law. This horrible circumstance that occurred to Lisa Dillman, her children and her family could lead us to make a change in the Divorce Act that would protect others from a similar circumstance in the future.
Previous members of parliament have referenced the 1997 report of the Special Joint Committee on Child Custody and Access, which some members of this House took part in, including, I believe, the current Speaker. It examined a number of very complicated issues relating to access and custody arrangements after separation and divorce, with special emphasis on children's needs. Over a 12 month period, that committee held no less than 55 meetings and heard from over 500 witnesses. It received hundreds of letters, submissions and briefs from concerned individuals and professionals across the country who wanted to provide input to this study. In December 1998 the report came back. It took the government an astounding five months to even respond.
At that time, the Minister of Justice, the current Minister of Health, stated:
--the Committee’s review has shown that those who must turn to the system would be better served by a less adversarial approach that encourages parental responsibilities and provides both parents with opportunities to guide and nurture their children. In most cases, children and youth benefit from meaningful relationships with both mothers and fathers.
There is no denying that, but where there is denial is that forcing a child to confront, in a prison environment, a parent who has been convicted of a sexually violent offence certainly runs completely opposite to the intention of what the minister described. It is counterproductive to the nth degree to suggest that a court ordering mothers, or fathers, which I suggest could happen, to subject their children to that sort of encounter is the antithesis of what we want to do and what we hope to achieve in nurturing good relations between both parents.
Madam Speaker, you would know that it has now been four years since this report was tabled. Because of that void, because of that failure on the part of the government to respond to this report, I would suggest that hon. members like the member for Red Deer have taken it upon themselves, and it is incumbent upon members of parliament to do so, to act in situations like this. He has done that. It is a reminder and a wake-up call for the government to get on with it and respond to this report. The Minister of Justice should know that. He has been tasked with this issue.
The committee at that time heard about the negative impact that divorce can have on children at a very basic level. I would suggest that it is even further exaggerated when parents in this circumstance are told by the court that they must bring their children to see the other parent. Very few witnesses supported the assertion that decisions made on the basis of a parent's right to personal happiness were automatically in the children's best interests. It was described clearly that this individual was being very vindictive and hurtful to the other parent by forcing the children to go through this ordeal. Clearly it was the complete opposite of the interests of the child.
The Divorce Act gives legal status to an individual's decision to terminate his or her marriage, thus recognizing for legal purposes that individuals have the right to end a marriage. Yet children can sometimes, as is the case here, I would suggest, get lost in that fight and in that adversarial atmosphere that very often exists. The rights of the children, balancing those rights, are an extremely important ingredient in that effort to find a proper balance between parents' rights and children's rights. To that I would add grandparents' rights in many cases. Some of the other suggestions that came from the report recommended that children themselves have the opportunity to be heard before parenting decisions that will impact on them are made.
I want to conclude in order to give the hon. member for Red Deer an opportunity to say a few words. I would again suggest that we wholeheartedly support the motion. The member for Saint John and the Progressive Conservative Party wish to congratulate him on his effort. We hope that the government will expand this effort, look at some of the recommendations of the report and, more important, today support the initiative of the member for Red Deer. Let us get the bill before the justice committee, where we can have an opportunity to make the necessary changes, to enact this change in the Divorce Act and protect Lisa, her children and others across Canada who might be subjected to this type of intrusion into their lives in the future.