Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of the debate that we have had in the House. I would first like to thank all the members who spoke during the two hours of debate, whether they were New Democrats, Liberals or Conservatives.
Before I continue my speech, I would like to say that I am proud that the Kid's Help Phone called me today to formally offer me its support. I would also like to thank this organization for supporting this motion, which is very dear to my heart and to the hearts of so many people here. Regardless of the role we want to play to combat bullying, I think that everyone's heart is in the right place.
I would also like to thank those who did not have the opportunity to speak during the two hours of debate because I know that these people, these adults, have been leaders over the past few years and that they have told young people and Canadian society that we must combat bullying, whether it was in the course of their duties in the House of Commons or elsewhere in the media.
I am going to take the four minutes that I have left to quickly thank them. There are so many that I cannot thank everyone, and I apologize for that.
First, I would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Justice who said the following on April 24:
She was referring to the cyberbullying bill introduced by the member for Vancouver Centre and stated:
I would just like to raise for our consideration a few points regarding the approach this bill is proposing. I would ask members to think about the scope of the bill and the fact that it only addresses the issue of cyberbullying and not the broader issue of bullying. In my opinion, these two types of bullying are so closely intertwined that it may well make more sense to deal with both together.
I totally agree with her. In fact, I believe we must take a comprehensive view of the issue. That is why my proposed national bullying prevention strategy takes aim at bullying as well as cyberbullying.
I would very much like to thank the member for Vegreville—Wainwright who, in the fall of 2010, stood in the House to present three distinct petitions on behalf of Canadians. These petitions asked the Government of Canada to introduce a bill to address the issue of bullying. He even added his own thoughts, and for that I am very appreciative.
On November 4, 2010, he said:
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present a petition on behalf of constituents, mostly from Edgerton and Chauvin in my constituency, who note that bullying is becoming a very significant problem in Canada. Particularly with the new communication methods, including the Internet, email, cell phones, et cetera, bullying is becoming easier for people to carry out.
The petitioners call upon Parliament to consider introducing legislation that would target putting an end to bullying.
Thank you very much.
I would also like to thank the member for Tobique—Mactaquac who said, on January 27, 2009:
Mr. Speaker, bullying is a problem that Canadians have faced for generations. Today one in four kids is bullied, one in five is a bully and 282,000 high school kids are attacked each month nationally.
Bullying has changed over the years. While there are still bullies in the schoolyards, advances such as the Internet and text messaging allow bullying to happen anytime, anywhere, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Sadly, once there is a habit of childhood bullying, this behaviour can continue into the workplace.
My sincere thanks go out to him as well. I would also like to thank the deputy government whip and member for Kitchener—Conestoga, who said the following in response to Jer's Vision:
Bullying in any form and for whatever reason must never be condoned. It is a serious social issue that will require all of us – families, parents, students, educators and government to each do our part to stop it.
As well, when speaking in the House about the suicide prevention strategy, he said:
There is already lots of good work being done in suicide prevention across the country, but with some federal coordination and federal leadership, we can do better for vulnerable Canadians.
I would like the hon. member to know that I totally agree with him and believe the government has a role to play in terms of coordination. I do not believe the government has a miracle solution, nor do I believe my proposed strategy to be a miracle solution. We must all work together.
There are so many members I would like to thank, including the members for Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock, Portage—Lisgar and Ajax—Pickering. I am short on time, but I would also like to thank everyone who stood in this place in the last few years to address the bullying issue.