Mr. Speaker, service in the Canadian Armed Forces is a commitment to defending our country, its institutions and the rights enjoyed by our citizens. My service in the military taught me many lessons, but the importance of respecting the rights of my fellow citizens was paramount.
I completed my military service and worked in the private sector for a decade before becoming a member of Parliament. I have always had deep respect for the rights of Canadians. My record speaks for itself: I have always voted in favour of LGBTQ community.
In my first four months as a member of Parliament, my vote was one of a handful of Conservative votes that helped an NDP bill on gender identity to pass. I stood and was counted for rights that day. As a parliamentarian, I am here to secure the rights of every Canadian, including those in the LGBTQ community, and to build an inclusive and prosperous country for all. Now, as leader of the Conservative Party, I pledge to continue this work. I will also hold the Liberal government to account when it falls short and when it prefers to contrast its virtue in a way meant to castigate others.
Once again, let me be crystal clear: Conversion therapy is wrong. In my view, it should be banned.
This is particularly the case when it could be threatened against someone against their will, or when it is used to denigrate or demean someone for who they are.
Sadly, the Liberals are once again playing politics. Instead of working hard to get things right and make life better for Canadians, they seem intent on scoring political points. Why do members think this bill is here on day two for me as a new leader in the House? Better yet, why do they think the Liberals have reintroduced the exact same bill they did last year, having totally ignored the well-known drafting failures of their first bill? They did this not because they want to get it right for the LGBTQ community. They did this because they want to force the Conservatives to seek amendments or possibly even vote against this bill.
As usual, the Liberals are playing petty politics in an attempt to scare Canadians. They want to divide us.
However, I know that Canadians are smarter than the Liberals think they are, and I know that the LGBTQ community sees through this too. I therefore want to use my time to talk for a moment to those in the LGBTQ community.
Some of them grew up in a home that did not understand or support them. Many of them faced persecution at school, at work, out in public at a restaurant, on a date, riding the subway, living life. For too many LGBTQ Canadians, that persecution may have even involved the threat or use of conversion therapy. To be forced to change who they are is not okay. That is something I hope no Canadian ever endures again, and if that is the intent of this bill, it needs to be clearly written that way.
In fact, clarity is one of the goals of legislative drafting, but the Liberals know that clarity and sincerity do not always make for good wedge politics in the age of Twitter. The Liberals know that if the bill is more clearly drafted they might lose the gotcha effect, which is becoming far too common in the politics we see to the south of us.
The Liberals know that by ignoring the thoughtful advice they already received from parents, teachers and faith leaders, they create a situation that allows for people who ask a simple question about this bill to be shamed into silence or cancelled on social media in the age of cancel culture. How is this fostering inclusion? In fact, many Liberal operatives are likely on social media right now claiming I am being divisive because I would prefer that we get this bill right and not work to divide Canadians.
The Liberal government knows that most Canadians do not want to see conversion therapy continue, but it also knows that most Canadians do not want conversations between a parent and a child or a religious leader and a young person to be criminalized either.
I know that my LGBTQ+ friends want everyone to be treated with dignity and respect.
They want vulnerable members of their community to be protected, and they want people who try to use conversion therapy to denigrate others to be prevented from doing that. I know they do not want to criminalize the conversations of others, because a community that has been unfairly persecuted for generations does not want to start unfairly persecuting others.
People need to be free to talk openly to people they trust in their families or communities. That could be about coming out. That could be about their orientation or their gender identity. It could also be about their own faith or their own personal life journey. They should feel free to talk to others without the fear of a public prosecution.
Kids need more support from adults, not less. In an age when young people are swiping and texting more than talking and connecting, we should not be criminalizing talking. Some very simple amendments could fix this, if this bill is truly more than a political wedge. Conversion therapy should be banned to protect young people coming out as LGBTQ.
I repeat: Conversion therapy should be banned to protect young people who identify as LGBTQ+. I want everyone to feel accepted in our society.
Let us do this in the right way and make sure their support networks are not jeopardized in the process. We will be seeking reasonable amendments to try to get to yes on this. I challenge the government to be reasonable as well.
LGBTQ Canadians deserve a bill that can ban conversion therapy and remind Canadians that the rights of their fellow citizens are important to defend. They also deserve respect and honesty from their elected officials. I hope they see that from me they can always count on honesty and commitment to their rights.