Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I too would like to speak in favour of this bill. I am glad to see we are moving ahead to deal with the widows in a more compassionate way than going through the court action. I would have to say that I am also disappointed that we are not seeing a commitment on the part of the government to deal with the widows before the enactment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

I would argue that a legal statute should not be the reason for us to react and say that it is right that we treat people who became widows after a certain date in 1985 differently than those who became widows before 1985. I would say this government has a moral obligation to follow the precedent set by the Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and I would hope that we would soon hear from this government that they are prepared to follow that precedent and make decent offers to those widows who would be affected if this legislation were truly retroactive to before 1985. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.