Civil Marriage Act  I am proud to be able to be here in this House today as a representative for Regina--Qu'Appelle to vote against this bill. I know that I am doing so on behalf of the vast majority of constituents in my riding. I know that my party is taking the position that the vast majority of Canadians want to see taken on this.

Justice  My party and I have tried to bring legislation forward to deal with this problem only to be defeated by other parties. NDP-Liberal coalition members have stood up and voted against minimum sentences for repeat offenders. The NDP has even complained that minimum sentences would lead to more trials. I thought that prosecuting criminals was a good thing. My voters in north central Regina are crying out for the government to give the tools necessary to police officers so they can do their job, keep repeat offenders in jail and clean up drug dealers on our streets.

Committees of the House  The fact is that in the two weeks preceding the deal that was made, the NDP socialists voted against the government on two occasions. It was only when the corrupt Liberals promised to pay them off in some way that they agreed to support the government. Just because the NDP got paid off does not make the government any more honest.

Committees of the House  She spoke at length about why her party defended the Liberals. Of course we would like to remind Parliament that the NDP voted against the Liberal budget not very long ago. The Conservative Party members, I would like to correct the hon. member, did not support the budget by sitting on their hands. We acted responsibly, because we knew that the government could fall at that time.

Committees of the House  I think that is the reason why they never twigged on to it. What is fascinating about their latest marriage is that they voted against the first budget and then when the news about corruption got really bad, that is when they joined. They said, “We had better get together with you guys. This is really looking bad now.

Committees of the House  I think Canadians generally accepted the fact that we had no intention of supporting the budget or of voting with the government but that it was sufficient enough that we did not want to vote against it, unlike the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party which both exercised their right, and I defend their right, to vote non-confidence in the government's budget. However the New Democratic Party has now changed its mind and has decided that unfortunately it will have to fall all over itself to prop up the corrupt Liberal government.

Civil Marriage Act  They gave me their support and they recently reiterated their objection to Bill C-38 by contacting my office in massive numbers. I am listening to my constituents and I am acting on their directions by voting against the bill. I again ask the members of cabinet this. Are they doing the same for their constituents or are their first loyalties to the Prime Minister's Office? I want to dispel the nonsense argument that maintaining the traditional definition of marriage is somehow discriminatory or infringes on human rights.

Civil Marriage Act  This time the Liberals did an about face and the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister voted against reaffirming the traditional definition of marriage. What a flip-flop. When they do not dither, they flip-flop. If Canadians cannot trust the Prime Minister's word on this, how can they be expected to trust his word on anything?

Civil Marriage Act  In contrast, this Liberal government has decided to go down a different road which I cannot support. I will be voting against Bill C-38 in its current form. I hope all members of Parliament will think very carefully about what is at stake before they vote. Our collective decision may have very serious implications for future generations.

Civil Marriage Act  I wish to make it very clear to my constituents that I oppose Bill C-38 and I will be voting against it. In his January message to the Calgary diocese, Bishop Henry made some controversial statements that were subject to much criticism. This speech shed light on the interplay between constitutional law, religious tradition and judicial interpretation.

Committees of the House  They have already told Canadians that they want the election. Members of the New Democratic Party and the Bloc have already voted against the government. They have made it plain that they want an election. However when the election does come we will be very vigilant. The same tricks, the corruption, the misused money, the cash under the table, the cash on top of the table, those kinds of things will not work again.

Civil Marriage Act  Why is the government dunking this legislation through a legislative committee for a quick wash? I aggressively encourage all members of Parliament to do what is right and vote against the legislation.

Committees of the House  After three hours of debate, this will go to a vote. I would be very surprised if any member of any party voted against the report. It is a report that does a very small part of what has to be done, but at least we decided we would tackle this and carry on from there. Quite frankly, as chair of the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates, I and other committee members have done a lot of work over the last few months to try to make the committee operate even more effectively, especially in terms of using the research available and having more research available.

Civil Marriage Act  It has shown an inability to look after the human rights aspects of that, as was suggested by the Deputy Prime Minister now some six years ago. I urge all members to vote against this bill. Let us do everything that is right and good.

Civil Marriage Act  Mr. Speaker, I too will be voting against Bill C-38. The Prime Minister has one thing right. At stake is the kind of nation we are today and the nation we want to be. There is no other issue that has come across my desk in the time I have been a member of Parliament that has generated as great a degree of correspondence by telephone, fax, email, and letter writing as the issue of marriage.