Mr. Speaker, I welcome this opportunity to take part in this very important debate today. As my honourable colleagues know, women in Canada have been building this great nation of ours through their contributions to every facet of Canadian life and history. One of Canada's most well-known feminists, Nellie McClung, once said that “People must know the past to understand the present and to face the future”.
Indeed, whether they were born here or arrived as newcomers to Canada, our history is full of stories of strong, outstanding women who were a part of the foundation of our country's success. Inspiring and driven women start businesses, they create jobs and contribute brilliant ideas in fields like the arts, science, technology, medicine, and so much more.
Canada is a country that respects the equality of opportunity for all individuals, no matter their gender, nationality or religious beliefs. As I look around the House today, I am proud to see that our Parliament now has a record number of women representing the interests of their communities and their nation.
Our government is committed to breaking down barriers and supporting all women on their journey to becoming leaders. Of course, this also includes providing immigrant and newcomer women with all the tools they need to succeed and flourish in Canada. That is why our immigrant settlement services are flexible and designed to meet the diverse needs of newcomers, including women who may be facing multiple barriers such as low literacy skills, lack of child care help and limited transportation. Once in Canada, women also have access to a range of employment-related supports that help them build their skills to enter the workforce and advance their careers. Our government is focused on supporting the rights of immigrant and newcomer women in the strongest possible way.
Unfortunately, violence against women and girls continues to affect tens of thousands of Canadians each year and barbaric cultural practices such as forced marriages are still a reality for some women and girls. Men and boys can also be victims, but women and girls are especially vulnerable. That is why we must always do whatever we can to protect victims of these barbaric cultural practices. The motion we are debating today provides another tool to protect these victims and allow them to live fulfilling lives in their new home, Canada.
First, let us be clear about what we are debating today, which is the issue of forced marriages. In a forced marriage, one or more parties to the marriage have not given their consent. Conversely, an arranged marriage is a marriage in which families take a leading role, but both parties have the free will to accept or decline the arrangement.
The motion would not affect these consensual marriages. What the motion proposes is to disallow marriages by proxy, as well as those performed via fax, telephone and Internet. For my honourable colleagues who are unfamiliar with the term, a marriage by proxy is where one, or even both participants, are not present at the ceremony and are represented by a third party. Sometimes these marriages are conducted via telephone, the Internet, or even by fax. Such marriages are not legally recognized when performed in any Canadian province or territory. However, they are currently recognized by Canadian immigration law when conducted outside of Canada.
When our government takes action to implement this motion, we would ensure that marriages by proxy, telephone, fax or Internet would still be recognized for members of the Canadian Armed Forces in active military service. We want to ensure that those in active military service to Canada could still get married if they are deployed for extended periods of time.
It is important to note that immigration applicants who decide to marry by proxy would have options. Couples could choose to remarry in person at a ceremony that meets a specific requirement, or they could apply as common-law or conjugal partners.
I want to reiterate that marriages by proxy, fax, telephone or Internet are not permitted in Canada in any province or territory.
Consideration of proxy marriages on humanitarian and compassionate grounds would also be available. However, the main focus of this motion is the increasing concern that some marriages by proxy, telephone, fax, or Internet originate as forced marriage. These are, for the most part, people who are not attending their own wedding ceremonies. Another individual is giving consent on their behalf by proxy. It is more difficult to give one's consent to marriage when one is not in the same room as the new bride or groom, which is what happens in a proxy, fax, telephone, or Internet marriage.
Indeed, there have been reports from our missions around the world of spousal sponsorship cases that were in fact cases of forced marriage facilitated by proxy. The unfortunate reality is that these practices can be used to force individuals into non-consensual marriages. It is time to close this loophole once and for all.
We are united as Canadian citizens not only by our shared ancestry but by a pledge of mutual responsibility and a commitment to the values and traditions rooted in our history. It is a fundamental Canadian value to ensure that each and every Canadian has a fair shot at a full and happy life and an equal chance at success and integration. This includes ensuring that everyone who interacts with our immigration system is treated fairly and that we are doing everything we can to help them successfully integrate as citizens of our country, regardless of their country of origin, their ethnic heritage, their economic circumstance, or their gender.
Our Conservative government has enacted many measures to protect the integrity of our immigration system and to prevent those at risk from being victimized by harmful practices. For example, our government has made it much harder for people convicted of violent crimes against family members or other particularly violent offences to sponsor any family class member to come to Canada. Family violence is not tolerated in Canada under any circumstance, and individuals who do not respect Canadian law and commit a serious crime should not benefit from the privilege of sponsorship.
Our Conservative government has also brought in new measures in recent years to deter foreign nationals from entering into marriages of convenience to gain permanent resident status in Canada. This includes a two-year conditional permanent resident status for certain sponsored spouses. Of course, our government has also introduced an exemption to the conditional status measures in instances where there is evidence of any abuse of a physical, sexual, psychological, or financial nature.
Our Conservative government has taken many steps to protect vulnerable immigrant and newcomer women.
As the motion before us states, it is time for our government to take action. Once again, we have a responsibility as legislators to ensure that we uphold and strengthen the protection of victimized women. I believe that strong women are the foundation of a strong and prosperous nation, our Canada.
Let us work toward making the next generation of Canadian girls and women the most fearless and accomplished generation yet. The Conservative government is proud to support Motion No. 505, and I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to it.