Madam Speaker, I would like to think all parties in this Parliament and in the country are defenders of the charter. It is pretty fundamental law in our country, as fundamental as we can get. I would like to think the Conservatives, the Bloc, the Liberals and we all support it, as do other small parties who are not even represented here.
To deal with the issue of religious freedom, I have read a lot of decisions over my career. I practised law for 27 years before I was elected. I read a lot of decisions of the Supreme Court of Canada. I can say without equivocation that the decision on the same sex marriage issue as rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada was as clear, as forceful and as strong as any decision it has ever written with regard to religious freedom. The judges made it absolutely clear that religious freedom would not be abrogated in any way or in any fashion.
I want to be more specific about this. The judges had never done this before in any case that I read. They went through it and asked about the this situation. Courts do not write decisions that way, particularly the Supreme Court of Canada. The judges painstakingly went out of their way to say to our churches that the legislation would in no way interfere with their rights as religious institutions. I can say that without equivocation.
I am just barely aware of the case to which the member refers. I do not see it so much as an issue with regard to charter rights as it is an issue with regard to employment and the loyalty of the individual to his employer. That may be beyond the questioner's ability to comprehend. It is a very technical area of law, but it is not a fundamental right issue or charter issue.