Madam Speaker, it is an honour to rise this afternoon. The petitioners have asked that the House assembled take action on the situation for the homeless in Canada. They note in this petition that the homeless are mistreated and discriminated against in a routine fashion. Many NGOs and governments are approaching the issue with what they term are best described as band-aid methods.
The petitioners ask that instead of marginalizing this already precarious community, the government pass a law to make it illegal to discriminate against any homeless person and to make it illegal to confiscate their personal property, which routinely happens when encampments are torn down by police action, forcing homeless people to move from public property when they have nowhere to go. In short, the petitioners ask that criminalizing homelessness end in this country and that the rights of the homeless be protected.