Mr. Speaker, in the House, I have worked extensively on international human rights issues, but nowadays, I see many stories from Canada suggesting that we are a country in need of intervention.
One recent story that got my attention was from Timothy Que, a 16-year-old who attends Eric Hamber Secondary School in Vancouver. Timothy tried to start a Catholic club, a voluntary association of students who get together to discuss Catholic ideas, but administrators forbade him from sharing Catholic teaching at the club, even with students who chose to attend the meetings. This is a shameful violation of freedom of association, but it is one small drop in a growing sea.
Religious services have faced pandemic-related restrictions that have not been applied to casinos. Government is proposing criminal charges for people who express certain personal or religious views in private conversations. The Liberal platform promised another ideological values test imposed on charities. Dozens of churches were destroyed or vandalized this summer with virtually no comment from political leaders. If these events were happening in another country, I know that Canada would not be silent. I hope more members of Parliament resist the populist pressure to clamp down on minority opinions and instead defend freedom of speech, association and religion as they are protected in our charter.