Mr. Speaker, the first petition I am tabling today is in support of an excellent private member's bill that I presented in the House. We have a parallel version of that bill that was tabled just yesterday in the Senate. These bills are Bill C-257 and Bill S-257. Conveniently, they have the same number.
Petitioners are calling on the House to recognize the problem of political discrimination and how Canadians can face political discrimination and have a right to be protected from that kind of discrimination. It is a fundamental right to be politically active and vocal. It is in the best interests of Canadian democracy to protect public debate and the free exchange of ideas, and Bill C-257 and Bill S-257 seek to add protection against political discrimination to the Canadian Human Rights Act.
Petitioners call upon the House to support Bill C-257 and Bill S-257, which seek to ban discrimination on the basis of political belief or activity, and to defend the rights of Canadians to peacefully express their political opinions.