Mr. Speaker, before I start my talk tonight on the same sex issue, I would like to honour Mr. Fred Kent from my riding, who passed away tragically. He was a war veteran, he served our community for 30 years, he was a founding councillor in the great city of Cambridge, and he was a soft-spoken man of action. We are going to miss Fred deeply.
Unlike Fred, who was an honourable man, the government has serious problems with credibility. The Deputy Prime Minister in 1999, and a number of the Liberal members present tonight, made promises. Promises made, promises broken. Those promises were made just prior to an election, and they served their purpose: those members were re-elected. But apparently that opinion is not the opinion today.
We have seen threats against churches for their tax exemption status. We have seen people like Bishop Henry come under attack, we have seen teachers having to defend their rights to free speech, and we have seen marriage commissioners threatened with firing, and some of them have been fired. Secular schools, Christian schools, and private schools will no longer be allowed to teach what they want. The Knights of Columbus, a well-respected Catholic organization, will indeed be sued. Without a doubt, mosques and other religious organizations will also come under attack.
The Liberal government itself admitted in committee and here tonight that it cannot guarantee the protection of religious freedoms. The Prime Minister himself has put forward some weak and wishy-washy assurances. He said religious freedoms are protected in the charter, and they will do even more than that; they will protect them even better than that. So he puts forward some amendments. Who believes that? I do not believe that. Members of his own Liberal Party do not believe that. One of them was so disgusted he left the party, with honour and integrity.
This is no longer Mr. Dithers; this is Mr. Phony. I have a news flash for the 33 Liberals who bought that record. The federal government does not have the authority to implement what the Prime Minister said. Promises made, promises broken. They have been bamboozled. These are provincial jurisdictions.
I have been sitting all day in the House, since 10 o'clock this morning, and it is now 9 o'clock in the evening, and I have heard some very disconcerting conversations around the committee's approach to this issue. Four witnesses at a time were creatively selected so that three supported the government's position and only one did not. It was an interesting intimidation tactic. They had 24 hours' notice. Those who supported the Prime Minister's agenda received financial help. Those who did not support the government's agenda were penalized by having to pay their own way.