Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, I do want to point out that not one of the amendments that were proposed by our Conservative party at committee was adopted. We proposed those amendments in good faith, and we proposed them with the support of the persons with disabilities community. Krista Carr, executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada, a group that represents persons with disabilities, said that Bill C-7 represents the “worst nightmare” for persons with disabilities.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, there is a consensus that the government's latest MAID bill lacks safeguards and puts persons with disabilities at risk. Witness after witness said this at justice committee. We heard from disability advocates who say this bill is unfair to persons with disabilities.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, when the Minister of Justice introduced the assisted-dying bill, he said that “this bill reflects a consensus among Canadians”, yet there is not even consensus in the Liberal cabinet. The minister responsible for disability inclusion has said that assisted dying providers should not raise assisted death with persons with disabilities.

Justice  Madam Speaker, with it being Victims and Survivors of Crime Week, Canadians were outraged to read a decision yesterday that a provincial court struck down the law that would allow judges to hand out consecutive life sentences to the country's cruelest murderers. If the government does not defend the law, it will have significant consequences across Canada.

Persons with Disabilities  Mr. Speaker, recently at the justice committee we heard moving testimony from individuals in the persons with disabilities community who are gravely concerned about the government's Bill C-7 and its impact on their community. Krista Carr, executive vice-president of Inclusion Canada, said that if Bill C-7 passes, discrimination on the basis of disability would once again be entrenched in Canadian law.

Veterans' Week  Mr. Speaker, Veterans' Week begins tomorrow. As we mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Legion has named Deborah Sullivan of Summerville, New Brunswick as this year's national Silver Cross mother. Deborah's son, Navy Lieutenant Chris Saunders, was serving aboard HMCS Chicoutimi on October 6, 2004, when he tragically lost his life.

Justice  Mr. Speaker, it was recently reported that a former staff member to the Minister of Justice wrote to his chief of staff stating, “Need to talk about what PMO requires us to do prior to a judicial appointment. It raises some concerns.” Why is the Prime Minister's Office maintaining such partisan-controlled involvement of judicial appointments and why will the minister not raise the same alarm bells on this as his former staff member did?

Justice  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that the minister may simply be trying to do his job and may in fact be frustrated by the constant partisan meddling of the Prime Minister's Office in the judicial appointments process, but this meddling is having serious impacts on the backlog in the courts across the country, something raised just recently in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, any legislation that amends the Criminal Code will ultimately be challenged in the courts. It is our job to write these laws. That is why it is incumbent upon parliamentarians to take into account the rights of all Canadians and ensure that legislation does what we intend it to do.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, a good starting point would be to look at the words of the minister straight from the justice department website. The minister has said that the conversations of those who work with young people, teachers, school counsellors, pastoral counsellors, faith leaders, doctors, mental health professionals, friends and family members, would not be impacted by the bill.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, this is an opportunity. There is support for the idea of banning conversion therapy even among faith communities, but there is also a need for the government to get the legislation right so we do not ban conversations where someone is seeking support, whether from school counsellors, teachers, pastoral counsellors, faith leaders, as the minister said.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure and an honour to speak this evening to Bill C-6, an act to amend the Criminal Code, conversion therapy. I want to thank all those colleagues today who have been participating in the debate. I have been following it with interest and we look forward to continuing debate on the legislation.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the reminder to all of us that it is Mental Health Week. We are hearing from those who suffer from mental health issues, from those in the disability community and from a broad range of people. This legislation literally deals with life or death.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, I thank hon. parliamentary secretary for his work on the justice committee and on this file. It is one thing to consult, but it is another thing to listen and hear what people are saying. We are hearing, loud and clear, from those in the disabilities community that this legislation, and these are their words, not mine, leads us to a society that says their disabilities are a fate worse than death.

Criminal Code  Madam Speaker, normally with a case like this, which comes from one province's courts, a case of national importance, the responsible thing to do for certainty, because we are a federation, would be to appeal the decision to a higher court and, indeed, on a decision this important that impacts our criminal law would be to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada.