Mr. Speaker, I will be dividing my time with the hon. member for New Brunswick Southwest.
I must say that I never thought, when I came to the Hill in 1993, that I would ever have to rise in the House of Commons and debate the definition of marriage. I cannot believe that this is happening.
In recent years Canadians have become concerned about the appearance that courts have encroached upon the supremacy of the Canadian Parliament by reading into our laws interpretations that appear to be inconsistent with or outside the intent of the laws passed by Parliament.
I heard the hon. member from Nova Scotia refer to the hon. members in the Supreme Court of Canada. If they are going to be honourable members, then they had better define marriage as a union between a man and woman and then I will call them honourable, but I will not if they do not.
This is in large part why we are having this debate today. There are those who believe that the unelected who serve in the top courts of our land must not be allowed to dictate public policy and should stick strictly to the letter of the law based on precedent.
We have so many people who are out of work, who are hurting, and we should not have to bring this for debate before the House of Commons.
I mentioned earlier about attending a meeting with the Toronto police department. Concerning John Robin Sharpe, I could not believe that the Supreme Court of Canada, or a court of Canada, would say that it was artistic merit. That man was so sick with what he had. It was pathetic. It was unbelievable. It brought tears down the side of my face. I could not look at half of what he had. I could not believe that anyone in Canada would have the likes of that in their possession and the court called it artistic merit. That is sick.
However, as with any system there will be situations that do arise where conflicts will occur. As the motion points out, there are three such items that do not seem to coincide with public perception today. When I look at the motion that we have before us concerning the granting of house arrest to child sexual predators that makes it easier for them to produce and possess child pornography, there is something wrong.
I have two grandchildren. I would never ever want them to see what I saw at the Toronto police department. I would never want them to see that.
When it comes to people who wish to live together, whether they are women or men, why do they have to be out here in the public always wanting to call it marriage? Why are they in parades? Why are men dressed up as women on floats? They do not see us getting up on floats to say we are husband and wife. We do not do that. Why do they have to go around trying to get a whole lot of publicity? If they are going to live together, they can go live together and shut up about it. There is no need for this nonsense whatsoever and we should not have to tolerate it in Canada.
We have witnessed a number of cases at the Supreme Court level in the last year which have in effect seemed to take away from the supremacy of Parliament and it seems to contradict society values that we hold dear. That is the Supreme Court of Canada. I refer once again to the John Robin Sharpe case. When I think about it, it was the courts overruling rules that were laid down here for Canadian society.
We have also witnessed three provincial cases in Ontario, Quebec and most recently British Columbia, which have decided that the legal definition of marriage is a violation of the charter rights afforded to same sex couples.
Let me say this. We have a Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that Charter of Rights of Freedoms does not lean to addressing same sex unions, same sex marriages. It is pathetic that with all the problems we have in this country from coast to coast we would be spending this time discussing this sort of thing. I really and truly am shocked to think that here we are in the House of Commons debating whether or not there should be same sex marriages. As I have stated before, if people wish to live together they can go live together, but do not expect us to endorse it as marriage because they live together.
To many it seems that the reading into the intent of laws by the courts seems to be a violation of the basic constitutional principles that we have, that Parliament makes the laws, the executive implements them and the courts interpret them. I am really worried about the way the courts are interpreting the laws we make. Who would think that in this day and age we would have to stand in the House of Commons and debate the definition of marriage? Who would think we would have to do that? I would never have thought when I came to Ottawa in 1993 that this day would come.
I have to say I am really hurt when I think of this. As I have stated, I look at these young people, our pages who are sitting here, bless their hearts, and we want to have a great country for them. We want to make sure that we have a solid foundation for their future, and a solid foundation for their future is to make sure that we stand up and we speak out for the values that are good for them for the rest of their lives. That is what we are here for: to build a solid foundation.
I will say right now that when I look at the definition of marriage being changed that is not a solid foundation for the future of our children. When we are going to change the definition of marriage and allow John Robin Sharpe what is called artistic merit, and now we are saying we will be granting prisoners the right to vote as well, I am going to tell--