Madam Speaker, it is a real pleasure for me to be joining the debate today, from my riding, on Bill C-7. I find myself in a unique position because, having given a speech on this very same bill earlier this year, I see we now find ourselves still at second reading for what, I would argue, is absolutely the most important piece of legislation we have before us at this time.
I was also one of the members of Parliament who had the honour of participating in the previous debate on Bill C-14 during the 42nd Parliament. I can remember very much the debates that went on in 2016 and the amount of attention that was given to that piece of legislation. We had an expert committee. We had a special joint committee. There were many hours spent, both in the House of Commons and at the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights, on that important piece of legislation because it made a monumental amendment to the Criminal Code in recognition of a very important Supreme Court ruling that forced Parliament to finally take the necessary action.
I remember, during that time, we in the New Democratic caucus ultimately voted against Bill C-14, but we always took the time to explain to people that we were ultimately supportive of what the overall aims of the bill were. Our major problem of the time was that the bill was too restrictive. I remember very well in 2016 referencing a particular section of the bill that I knew would be challenged by the court. Lo and behold, here we are in the year 2020, and we are revisiting that problematic section and having to fix a mistake that was made very clearly four years ago.
It is good to see Bill C-7, and it is good to see that we are complying with challenges that were made before the courts, this time coming in response to the Truchon decision by the Superior Court of Quebec. I know that we are operating under quite a tight deadline. That being said, I still think Parliament has to do a full job on this bill. As parliamentarians, whether we support the legislation, have problems with it or are opposed to it, we owe it to the people of Canada to give this debate as full a discussion and time as Bill C-14 had.
At this time, in particular for the benefit of the people of Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, it is important to underline why we are here discussing this. It really centres on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, notably sections 7 and 15.
I am increasingly seeing section 7 as probably the most important part of the charter or one of the most important parts, because so many cases seem to be coming forward that directly reference section 7. I know it is open to interpretation, but if we go along with successive court rulings, my own personal view on the subject is that it is a very important section because it is ultimately making the case that every person in Canada has the right to autonomy over their own body. That is why it is such an important section. If we truly believe in the rights of individuals to make decisions for themselves over what goes on with their own bodies, section 7 is incredibly important. It is really life, liberty and security of the person. That is the part that has to be underlined.
We also have to mention section 15 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees quality before and under the law and makes sure people are free from discrimination. Why those two sections have such an important bearing in this case is that this bill is trying to make sure people have the right to say what goes on with their own bodies and that in making that decision they are not going to be discriminated against.
I have been listening to the debates on Bill C-7, both from the previous week and today. I acknowledge that many members are bringing forward some concerns with the bill, and I understand and want to validate those concerns. I do not believe we have to make the debate on Bill C-7 an overly partisan issue. That is why I made the comment at the beginning that it is important that all members of Parliament, no matter what party they belong to, be given the chance to fully air their views.
I believe the bill passes muster at second reading and deserves a vote of confidence at this stage of debate, because if there are particular sections of the bill that need further attention, that work is best done at the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights.
I fully understand that many members have raised concerns about the removal of safeguards. I have heard many members talk about the state of palliative care in Canada, whether there is enough being done with suicide prevention and so on, and I am very sympathetic to those. I think every member of Parliament, no matter what part of the country we are fortunate enough to represent, can relate to those concerns. We can relate to the concerns that we have received through email correspondence, letters, phone calls and speaking with our constituents face to face.
I am lucky enough to have a hospice undergoing major construction right now. There is a new hospice being built in the Cowichan Valley. I am really glad to see that the level of palliative care in my home riding is going to be significantly better than it was, but of course more can always be done.
Ultimately what is guiding me in this is that it is quite impossible for me, as a member of Parliament who is lucky enough to have his health and not have a grievous and irremediable medical condition, to really understand the level of suffering some individuals in Canada go through. When we are talking about the bill, the struggle we have before us is to not subject other people to our own values, whether those are guided by religious beliefs or the way we were raised and so on. It is quite impossible for people who are healthy and lucky enough to have all of their faculties to understand what the day-to-day life existence is of people who are suffering from one of these incurable and irremediable medical conditions.
Therefore, what is guiding me and members of the New Democratic caucus is an overall goal of trying to ease that suffering, to respect those people's section 7 rights and to understand that they should have the ability to live their lives in dignity and make a determination as to how they want to exit this world. I know it is an uncomfortable debate for many people to have, but that is what is going to be guiding me through these deliberations. I hope it is something all members can take note of.
Following on the speech my colleague, the member for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke, gave the other day concerning the legislative review that was part of the former Bill C-14, I want to draw the attention of members to the fact that this was a requirement of Bill C-14. The member for Esquimalt—Saanich—Sooke has put forward a proposal through his private member's motion, Motion No. 51, that will establish a special committee to look at how the legislation is doing. That is something Parliament can easily do while we are deliberating the provisions of Bill C-7. The creation of such a special committee to look at how Bill C-14 has been enacted over the last four years is really important.
This goes back to my first point that, yes we are operating under deadlines, yes we have had people waiting for some time, but, ultimately, it is critically important that we let Parliament deliberate this issue to the fullest extent possible.
With that, I conclude my remarks and look forward to any questions my colleagues may have.