[News] [Canada] Stanton criticized for support of transsexual Canadians

[Stephanie Stevens]

The Barrie Advance, ON, Canada


Stanton criticized for support of transsexual Canadians

Campaign Life Coalition peeved at MPs who backed private member’s bill

Travis Mealing | Jun 26, 2012 - 9:28 AM


[Photo: Bruce Stanton]

NORTH SIMCOE – A pro-life, family-values organization has singled out
15 Conservative MPs – including Simcoe North’s Bruce Stanton – for
supporting greater protection against discrimination and hate speech
for transsexual Canadians.

The Toronto-based Campaign Life Coalition objects to a private
member’s bill introduced by Randall Garrison, a New Democrat from
British Columbia. The organization is holding the 15 Conservatives
responsible for voting in favour of Bill C-279, an act to amend the
Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code.

The proposed legislation passed second reading June 6 by a vote of
150-132. All 132 nays came from Conservatives. Prime Minister Stephen
Harper was one of 17 Conservatives absent for the vote, which would
have been lost had Stanton and his 14 fellow Conservatives voted the
other way.

“This legislation has been a long time in the works,” Garrison stated
in a press release. “This shows Canadians that there are people on all
sides of the House who view equal rights of transsexual, transgender
and gender-variant Canadians as basic human rights.”

Among the Conservatives who voted alongside Stanton were cabinet
ministers Jim Flaherty, Lisa Raitt and John Duncan.

Opponents of Bill C-279 have included such religious and pro-family
organizations as the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Catholic
Organization for Life and Family, REAL Women of Canada, and the Canada
Family Action Coalition.

Critics have warned that the bill provides further support for the
ideology that gender is a fluid social construct that can be
completely separated from one’s biological birth sex.
Stanton, however, said his support for the bill comes down to a
legitimate concern over discrimination.

“I’ve heard from people in our own riding that are conflicted in this
way and that are discriminated against,” he said. “It’s a great source
of anguish…. I believe that this group of Canadians deserves to have
the same tools available to them in the law to prevent that kind of
discrimination.”

As for being in such a small minority of Conservatives to support the
bill, Stanton said he could not speak for his caucus colleagues or
speculate about their rationale.

“They have different reasons for supporting these or not,” he said.
“This is a private member’s bill, and I’m thankful I’m in a party that
allows members to look at these types of questions, questions of moral
conscience.

“I don’t question other members who may have a different take on this,
but, for me and for the kind of principles that I wish to stand up
for, this was important.”

The bill has been referred to the standing committee on justice and
human rights. It will return to the House in the fall for a third
vote, which, if successful, would land the bill in the Senate.


© Copyright Metroland 2012

http://www.simcoe.com/news/article/1381848--stanton-criticized-for-support-of-transsexual-canadians