Mr. Speaker, today marks three years since Bill C-389 was adopted by the previous minority Parliament.
The bill would have filled a significant gap in our human rights legislation by providing equal rights and equal protection under the law to transsexual, transgendered, and gender variant Canadians.
Unfortunately the Senate failed to deal with Bill C-389 before the election. After the 2011 election, I was privileged to pick up the work of Bill Siksay, the former member of Parliament for Burnaby—Douglas.
My private member’s bill, Bill C-279, passed the House with support from all parties on March 20, 2013.
Unfortunately, three years after Canada's elected representatives first acted and nearly one year after the House again endorsed equal rights for all, trans-Canadians are still waiting for full equality.
Last June, the Senate justice committee completed hearings on the bill and approved it without amendment. Today, I am calling on the unelected Senate to act quickly to honour the will of the House.
Trans-Canadians continue to face high levels of discrimination and violence on a daily basis. There is no time and no excuse for further delay.