Mr. Speaker, I appreciate this opportunity to reply, and I would like to thank all members who kindly spoke to my motion.
First of all, let me clarify some comments that were made by a couple of members in the opposition. I would like to thank the members, but there was mention of a confusing message in the motion, so I want to make sure that the members opposite understand that this is an important issue. I do not believe there is confusion with regard to my motion. I would be happy to talk to them about it. I think the motion is very clear in asking the government to put in place a regulation to disallow, for the purposes of immigration, telephone, fax, Internet, and proxy marriages.
The member from the Liberal Party mentioned that he deals with this regularly, and he gave some examples. One of the examples he gave was of marriages that were not recognized in Canada and took place in another country. I would like to say that the remedy for that is quite simple. I would encourage couples in that situation to either come to Canada or the country where one of the spouses lives to be married and hold a ceremony with a presiding official.
It is important that we uphold our Canadian values and that we recognize that being in the same room is a fairly simple criterion to meet when two people are getting married. In the example that the Liberal member gave, that couple would then be free to apply for a spousal application, just like anyone else, and the recommended regulation in my motion would not apply.
I note that he asked why there might be a need for a legislative change, so I want to clarify that my motion is asking for a regulatory change. I do agree with him that this is an important issue and that there is the bigger issue of forced marriage. A couple of our other colleagues mentioned that as well. Telephone, fax, Internet, and proxy marriages are really only one small piece of the puzzle. This is just one loophole that I am seeking to close.
I do hope that clarifies some of the member's questions and misunderstandings, and that he can support the motion.
The NDP member opposite said that she disagrees with the motion because she does not see the need for it and that there are very few applications put forward in this manner. I would like to tell the member opposite that, in fact, we are talking about hundreds every year, and possibly over a thousand. This is not a tiny problem. It is actually a fairly common issue that our visa officers around the world deal with. As I said, I am seeking to close that loophole.
It would not ban something that is already banned. It is correct that these types of marriages are not legitimate on Canadian soil and do not take place here, but that is not what the motion seeks to ban. The motion seeks to disallow these marriages when they take place elsewhere for the purposes of immigration. I want to make that very clear to all members. I do believe this motion would help prevent fraud, and thus would of course serve a purpose.
Lastly, I would like to thank the member for Calgary Centre for talking about the coercive aspect, for helping me to clarify some of the misconceptions, and for mentioning the exemption for active military service.
I would like to thank the Minister of Status of Women and the member for London North Centre for speaking to my motion and for their support.