Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to stand here and, as I have remarked on other occasions, to speak in support of this bill. I am pleased to see that the initiative is before us in second reading. The Minister has well addressed, and so has my colleague, Mr. Dent, many of the legal consequences we would find ourselves in if we did not take this responsibility on. I will not dwell on it. I think it has been very clearly established.
Rather, Mr. Speaker, I would like to talk about the aspect of right versus wrong, good versus bad, and see just where we are today in terms of our values and the tolerance and the acceptance that we have of a society for ideas and trends that are different, yet are not of a nature that is going to hurt or harm us or pose a threat to any individual, or for that matter to society.
It was not that long ago, not in my living memory, Mr. Speaker, but I think in the memories of elders in the Northwest Territories, when aboriginal people were not allowed to vote or consume alcohol. Further back, women in Canada were not allowed to vote. We have changed. Society changes. It is a good thing now that we are not looking at the gender of a person, at the color of their skin, whether they are black or yellow or red or white. We are not looking at whether they are Jews or Muslims or Christians. We are not looking at whether they are disabled. We are not looking at the languages they speak. Our laws more and more in Canada and around the world are looking at people as individuals, as people, not what unique characteristics they have in the eyes of the law.
Here, Mr. Speaker, is really what is significant to me about this piece of legislation and why it is the responsibility of this Legislature to support this and approve it. Mr. Speaker, when two people of whatever gender come forward and say they want to be recognized in the law as having the will and the commitment to share the responsibility of raising a child, not just getting the right to do that, that looks good on a piece of paper or in a headline or in a procedural book somewhere, but when they want to share in the responsibility of raising a family, that is a significant responsibility. We need that kind of commitment in our territory and our society, Mr. Speaker. As a legislator, I will stand for them to help see that right and responsibility is recognized.
I hope my colleagues can consider their own values and, as I said, their tolerances and their acceptance for what is right and that is, in law, the acceptance of people taking on responsibility and being recognized for that in our laws. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I am pleased to stand here in support of this bill.