44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 9, 2023 10:00AM
- May/9/23 10:02:47 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, I have one petition to present. It is a petition on behalf of Canadians from across the country who are concerned about the risk of violence against women, particularly when they are pregnant.
Increasingly, the injury or death of preborn children as victims of crime is not established in Canadian law as a risk factor. Folks are calling for Canada, this Parliament, to consider that to be an aggravating circumstance in sentencing under the Criminal Code of Canada. Currently, Canada has no abortion law and this legal void is so extreme that we do not even recognize preborn children as victims of violent crime. Justice requires that an attacker who abuses a pregnant woman and her preborn children be sentenced accordingly and that the sentence should match the crime.
The people who have signed this petition are calling on the House of Commons to legislate the abuse of pregnant women and inflicting harm on a preborn child as an aggravating circumstance for sentencing under the Criminal Code.
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Madam Speaker, today I rise to speak to Bill C‑311, which was introduced by the Conservative member for Yorkton—Melville.
The bill amends the Criminal Code to specify that knowingly assaulting a pregnant woman and that causing physical or emotional harm to a pregnant woman are to be considered aggravating circumstances for sentencing purposes.
At first glance, this bill seems like a well-intentioned measure to better protect pregnant women. However, a closer look at the bill's language and genesis suggests that its real purpose is to reopen the abortion debate in Canada.
Conservative Bill C-311 is the most recent iteration of a number of similar previous private members' bills. In 2016, the same Conservative member introduced Bill C-225, which proposed to add an offence for injuring or causing the death of a “preborn child” while committing an offence. That proposed legislation was defeated due to the concerns that it would have conferred rights on fetuses, thereby compromising abortion rights in this country.
While that Conservative bill explicitly mentioned preborn children, Bill C-311 seems to take a more indirect approach, but to arrive at the exact same result. I understand why my colleague felt it necessary to be so indirect in her tactics to further her goal. After all, the Conservative member's previous attempt, through Bill C-225, was soundly defeated, with members of all other parties in this House voting to reject that Conservative bill. Not only that, but over 20 Conservative MPs could not even bring themselves to vote for it. A few Conservative members even voted against it, including the member for Wellington—Halton Hills; I think this underlines why so many of us in this House think so highly of that particular member.
Now I would like to say a bit more about the reasons I oppose this Conservative bill. There are two major reasons.
First, this bill appears to be designed to serve as a stepping stone towards reopening the abortion debate in Canada, with the goal of—
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Madam Speaker, this bill appears to be designed to serve as a stepping stone towards reopening the abortion debate in Canada, with the goal of conferring rights on the fetus.
Let me be clear. Our government firmly believes that the right to abortion is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We will never compromise on that right.
Second, this bill contains errors that render it simply ineffective at achieving its intended purpose. I will explain how the bill would actually reduce the legal tools available to pregnant women who have been assaulted.
I recognize, of course, that violence against pregnant victims is a serious problem and a form of gender-based violence that requires a tough criminal response. The Criminal Code already includes numerous offences of general application that we can rely on in the context of gender-based violence.
Depending on the wrongdoing in question, offences such as assault, sexual assault and uttering threats could apply, as could other offences such as criminal harassment, which applies in cases involving ongoing behaviour that affects the victim's sense of physical or psychological safety. Aggravating factors already exist that can be invoked to increase penalties when the violence is committed against a pregnant victim. The relevant case law indicates that these cases are treated seriously by the courts.
In addition to a strong criminal response, I am sure we can all agree that strong non-legislative measures are also needed to address all forms of gender-based violence. That is why our government continues to implement its strategy entitled “It's Time: Canada's Strategy to Prevent and Address Gender-Based Violence”. This strategy focuses on preventing gender-based violence, supporting survivors and promoting the necessary legal systems.
I want to speak more directly about the right to choose and abortion rights here in Canada. The Conservative member for Yorkton—Melville has stated in this House that her bill is meant to address the “legal void” around abortion in Canada.
The Conservative member created her own web page for this particular bill where she linked to a pro-life petition, which she also presented in this chamber in March. That petition advocates for Bill C-311, arguing that “preborn children” should be considered “victims”. This language has garnered public support from anti-abortion organizations that seek to strip reproductive freedom from women here in Canada.
When someone tells us who they are and what they are doing, we have to believe them. Just last week in this House, the member for Yorkton—Melville said, “Canada has no abortion law and it is still a huge discussion in our country.” Where is this still a huge discussion? Only the Conservatives want to discuss abortion law in this country. There is certainly no doubt that it is the Conservatives reopening this debate on the floor of the House of Commons here today.
Pro-choice organizations, including Abortion is Healthcare, a group from the sponsor's home province of Saskatchewan, and the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada, have spoken out against this Conservative bill. Abortion is Healthcare called Bill C-311 a bill that is “slowly moving the fetus toward personhood.”
To be clear, abortion is health care in this country. A woman's right to choose is hers and hers alone. The government has no role to play in that decision. We, the Liberal government, will always stand with Canadian women in order to protect their rights.
For those who feel that the Conservatives' reopening of this debate in Canada is not something they should be worried about, I would like to share a part of the conversation on feminist policy that our Deputy Prime Minister had this weekend with Secretary Hillary Clinton. Secretary Clinton said, “there is a very significant historical struggle going on, about whether we move forward or the clock is turned back”. I raise this because just across our southern border, we see the clock getting turned back. We witnessed U.S. Supreme Court justices and politicians attempt the erasure of decades of feminists' struggle for a woman's right to make decisions about her own body. We know that Canadians fought tirelessly for this same right in our country, and we will never let it be weakened.
Finally, I would like to explain why this bill would actually endanger pregnant women. Bill C-311 would reduce the legal tools available to people who are assaulted while pregnant. Sentencing courts already treat the fact that a victim is pregnant as an aggravating factor in the common law. The factor that currently applies is similar to Bill C-311, but it provides broader protection, because it does not require evidence that the offender knew that the victim was pregnant. Therefore, I am extremely concerned that the bill's proposed aggravating factor could result in sentencing courts refusing to treat a victim's pregnancy as an aggravating factor in cases where there is no evidence that the offender knew the victim was pregnant.
I do not want pregnant women to suffer from less protection under the law because of this ill-conceived bill, Bill C-311. This Conservative bill would be a step backwards for pregnant women, for all women and for all Canadians. I will be voting against this bill and urge every single member of this House to vote against this Conservative bill.
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