Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I may be the person with whom you can practice finding the button for appropriate time this afternoon. I don't know if I can speak quickly enough to get it all in in two and one-half minutes. Mr. Speaker, last Thursday we were discussing Bill 5, An Act to Amend the Maintenance Act, in committee of the whole. As I indicated then, I support the bill because it provides some protection for people in common-law relationships that they have not had since a court decision in 1991.

In the course of discussing the bill, I pointed out that, in my opinion, the bill does not address some concerns, and expressed disappointment over what I saw as shortcomings in the bill. Mr. Speaker, I was disappointed that the Minister of Justice seemed to take my criticism of the bill personally and said I should accord him respect because he is proposing the legislation. Mr. Speaker, my criticism of the bill had nothing to do with respect for the Minister and I sincerely regret that I would even have to say that.

Every Member of this House has the right and responsibility to point out concerns over the shortcomings of legislation under consideration and should not, when doing so, have to be concerned about whether a Minister will take that criticism personally. During discussion, I was very careful to point out that because Bill 5 will improve the situation over what it is now, I will support the bill. I never did criticize the Minister, only what I see as shortcomings in the bill.

I make no apologies, Mr. Speaker, for pointing out that this bill in many ways reflects a philosophy or moral position taken by the government. The Minister, on Thursday, stated that families and societies want people to get married. That is a moral statement. Whether it is accurate, I don't know, but these days it may not be. It certainly is the philosophy reflected in Bill 5 since that bill does not provide the same level of protection to common-law couples as a marriage contract would. Since this is a government bill, I would argue that this must be the philosophy of the government.

Mr. Speaker, I seek unanimous consent to continue my statement.