Mr. Speaker, I am so proud to rise today to table petition e-6488 to demand that the Government of Canada appoint a disability commissioner to hold the government accountable when the human rights of persons with disabilities are violated.
People with disabilities make up one in four Canadians, and their rights are affirmed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Canadian Human Rights Act and international treaties, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, like the petitioners have suggested, all too often these rights, which are enshrined in Canadian and international law, are violated or disregarded.
I want to give a special shout-out to Jay Woodruff, who took so much time getting this petition together, running a campaign. I encourage everybody to look on the website for this petition.