Rob Nicholson on Criminal Code

Madam Speaker, I think it is perfectly understandable that so few people saw this. I had reached out to a number of religious institutions, and they were completely unaware. If we look very carefully at the press releases and the speeches of the Liberals when they tabled this bill, they made no reference to it whatsoever. They only talked about duelling, witchcraft and sorcery, those kinds of things. Those were the sections they wanted to remove from the Criminal Code. There was no suggestion whatsoever with respect to removing the protection of religious services and religious officials. As members of the opposition, I think it is our job to make sure that people know, and the hon. member for Barrie—Innisfil did exactly that. He reached out to all those religious communities within his riding and let them know. It was not a case that we had to twist their arm or make long arguments or something. They got it. They understood that, in this day and age, we must and should continue to have those religious protections. Therefore, I want to thank him, indeed all my colleagues, and all those who got the message here and kept that section in.