Liberal backbench MPs joined forces with opposition partiesWednesday evening to reject attempts by the government to gut agenetic discrimination bill, overwhelmingly passing the legislation and defying the wishes of cabinet.
Recently retired Liberal senator Jim Cowan watched from the viewing gallery as 222 MPs voted in favour of his legislation, something he has long fought for through successive parliamentary sessions.
All cabinet ministers and most parliamentary secretaries in attendance voted against the bill. Only four Liberal backbenchers sided with the government, a rare displayof disunity within the Grit ranks.
Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybouldwas opposed to the bill andsaid she believes the legislation is unconstitutional as it could infringe on the provinces' right to regulate the insurance industry.
Bill S-201 will add genetic characteristics as a protected ground under the Canadian Human Rights Act, introducepenalties for discrimination, and forbid employers from subjecting job applicants to a genetic test.
The legislation will also allow people to refuse to disclose the results of a genetic test to anybody. Medical experts have said the legislation is necessary to counter the fears associated with potentially life-saving genetic testing, which could produce resultsthat would help doctors better tailor health treatments.
A breach of the law could result in a fine of up to $1 million, or five years behind bars.
Aspreviously reported by CBC NewsTuesday, AnnaGainey, president of thefederal Liberals, penned a letter during the last election promising protections against genetic discrimination if elected.
Some have suggested the Liberal flip-flop was the result ofaggressivelobbying tactics by the insurance industry.
Theindustryhas not hidden its opposition to Cowan's private member'sbill, a piece of legislation that easily passed the Senate last April and the House of Commons justice committee inDecember.
"The life and health insurance industry is extremely disappointed that Bill S-201 was passed today in the House of Commons without significant amendment.
"The industry agrees with the federal government's position as expressed by the prime minister and the minister of justice, as well as a number of provinces, that an important element of the bill is unconstitutional," Wendy Hope, a spokesperson for theCanadian Life and Health Insurance Association, said in an emailed statement to CBC News after the vote.
The federal government has to consider multiple factors when making decisions, Trudeau said Wednesday ahead of the vote, noting it needs to ensure it is defending the rights of Canadians and upholding their freedom from discrimination.
It also has to defend the Constitution and the balance between federal and provincial jurisdictions, he added.
"The government has taken a position that one of the elements in the proposed bill is unconstitutional," Trudeau told a news conference.
"That is the recommendation we had and the government position is to vote against that particular ... element in the bill."
The Liberal government hadproposed stripping the bill of everything except the power to make genetic characteristics a prohibited ground of discrimination under the Canadian Human Rights Act, but those amendments were rejected Wednesday evening.
The bill has now cleared both the House of Commons and the Senate but will only become law when it receives royal assent, which could take place in the next few days.
Original post:
Liberal backbenchers defy cabinet wishes and vote to enact genetic discrimination law - CBC.ca
- Paul Krugman - The Conscience of a Liberal - December 11th, 2016 [December 11th, 2016]
- Liberal Democrat Voice - December 11th, 2016 [December 11th, 2016]
- Urban Dictionary : liberal - December 12th, 2016 [December 12th, 2016]
- READ MORE : Liberal groups want delay of Sessions' hearing - January 5th, 2017 [January 5th, 2017]
- What Is a Liberal - What Is Liberal Bias - January 9th, 2017 [January 9th, 2017]
- Liberal Party of Australia - Wikipedia - February 1st, 2017 [February 1st, 2017]
- Conservatives reject liberal humor in Trump era: Dave Berg - USA TODAY - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Liberal Judicial Activism Borders On Insurrection - Daily Caller - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Liberal Fake News Reportedly Growing - Yahoo News - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- House Science Chairman Sees Liberal Cover-Up on Warming Pause - Scientific American - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Furious Liberal MPs turn on 'rat' Cory Bernardi - The Australian Financial Review - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- 'Rallying point': Abbott to headline conservative Liberal fundraiser in Melbourne - The Age - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- I'm A Liberal, And I Want Milo Yiannopoulos On My Campus - Huffington Post - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Cory Bernardi says he resents being used in Liberal party 'proxy war' - The Guardian - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- HuffPo's New Editor In Chief Is Already Undoing Arianna's Liberal Legacy - Daily Caller - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Why Are Liberals Surprised by the Senate Confirmation of DeVos? - National Review - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Liberal Hashtag #NotMySuperBowlChamps Protests Patriots' Support of Trump - Fox News Insider - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- All liberals are hypocrites. I know because I am one - Quartz - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- '9th Circus'? Scholars Say Court's Liberal Rep Is Overblown - ABC News - February 7th, 2017 [February 7th, 2017]
- Economic freedom - Wikipedia - February 8th, 2017 [February 8th, 2017]
- Liberal land - Richfield Reaper - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Liberal groups file lawsuit to block Trump's deregulation order - Washington Examiner - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Strategies for Saving the Liberal Arts - Inside Higher Ed (blog) - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- This day in Liberal Judicial ActivismFebruary 9 - National Review - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- The Marco Rubio knockdown of Elizabeth Warren no liberal media outlet will cover - Conservative Review - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker proposes surprisingly liberal budget - Chicago Tribune - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Why the liberal world order is worth saving - Irish Times - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Tim Scott reads racist tweets by 'liberal left' over support for Jeff Sessions - Washington Times - February 9th, 2017 [February 9th, 2017]
- Five tips on having a safe conversation with your liberal spouse or conservative brother - Fox News - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Why Liberal Policies Are Terrible For Young People - Power Line (blog) - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Trevor Bauer goes on long rant defending tweet about liberal bias - Yahoo Sports - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Liberal Tolerance: Sen. Tim Scott Reads His Hate Mail On Senate Floor For Supporting Sessions As AG - Townhall - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Claws Out For Ivanka Trump Show Liberal Love For Women Is A Sham - The Federalist - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Trump Takes a Running Whack at the Liberal Interventionists - The Nation. - February 10th, 2017 [February 10th, 2017]
- Networks Swoon Over GOP 'Feeling the Wrath' of Liberal Town Hall Protesters - NewsBusters (blog) - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Liberals, don't fall into the right's 'identity politics' trap - The Guardian - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Liberal pledge: Revamp for 69 outdated schools in $560 million spend - Perth Now - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Indians swept by Liberal in WAC action - Hays Daily News - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- Trump's attacks on the press and how the liberal media myth has empowered him - Salon - February 11th, 2017 [February 11th, 2017]
- The Paranoid Style of Anti-Trump Politics - National Review - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- What the Liberal-One Nation preference deal could mean at the ballot box - ABC Online - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Finley: Left bites Ivanka's liberal hand - The Detroit News - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- A new, liberal tea party is forming. Can it last without turning against Democrats? - Washington Post - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Since When Is Being a Woman a Liberal Cause? - The New York ... - New York Times - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- This liberal Brooklynite is on the hunt for conservative friends - New York Post - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Small-l liberal voters have been abandoned in the race to the right - The Sydney Morning Herald - February 12th, 2017 [February 12th, 2017]
- Rich, Liberal Celebrities Lecture and Claim to Stand for 'We the People' at the 2017 Grammys - NewsBusters (blog) - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- WA One Nation candidates refuse to preference Liberals - ABC Online - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- India's liberal bubble has shrunk to irrelevance in the age of Narendra Modi - Quartz - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Liberal superhero Justin Trudeau is not immune to the forces of Trump - CNN - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- A new satire must emerge one that breaks out of the liberal bubble - The Guardian - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- A liberal Tea Party, the pope helps spring a terrorist and other notable commentary - New York Post - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- At Ole Miss, a Liberal Agitator's Education - New York Times - February 13th, 2017 [February 13th, 2017]
- Liberal Frenzy: 'Impeach' Trump; 'Traitor! Resign by Morning' - CNSNews.com - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Chelsea Clinton future run for political shunned by liberal activists ... - Washington Times - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- One Nation could gain more than the Liberals from Western Australia seats deal - The Guardian - February 14th, 2017 [February 14th, 2017]
- Conservatives: Walker's budget plan is anything but 'liberal' - Watchdog.org - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Trump Says Liberal Media 'Going Crazy With Blind Hatred' - Daily Caller - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- I'm a bleeding-heart liberal cleric but the Church of England must not accept gay marriage - Telegraph.co.uk - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- What's a Liberal to Do When His Spouse Is a Trump Zealot? - New York Times - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- Liberal Activists Join Forces Against a Common Foe: Trump - New York Times - February 15th, 2017 [February 15th, 2017]
- John Howard backs Liberal preference deal with One Nation in WA - The Guardian - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Liberal ex-MP who called party a 'gay club' likely to be kicked out - The Australian Financial Review - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- New Liberal PAC Targets Democrats for Primaries - NBCNews.com - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- 'Liberals will continue to lose': Bill Maher defends Milo Yiannopoulos booking after panelist boycotts - Washington Post - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Whatever happened to liberal Democrats, anyway? - Chicago Tribune - Chicago Tribune - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Sportswriting Has Become a Liberal Profession Here's How It Happened - The Ringer (blog) - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- If the Church of England continues to smother liberal Anglicans, it is heading for a split - Telegraph.co.uk - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- Major liberal group opposes Gorsuch confirmation - USA TODAY - February 16th, 2017 [February 16th, 2017]
- The True Origins of the Phrase 'Bleeding-Heart Liberal' - Atlas Obscura - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Liberals, Tories spar over Islamophobia motion in full-day debate - The Globe and Mail - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Where Have All the Liberal Democrats Gone? - Townhall - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Vicious attacks on Ivanka Trump exposes liberal hypocrisy - The Hill (blog) - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Can Emmanuel Macron win? Why France is ripe for a liberal resurgence - New Statesman - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Victorian Liberals: factional fight exposes deep divisions - The Age - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- 10 Unfortunate Liberal Myths Conservatives Often Believe - Observer - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Terri Lovell: Liberal oppression - Santa Clarita Valley Signal - February 17th, 2017 [February 17th, 2017]
- Where's the liberal outrage over civil liberties in the Flynn case? - Minneapolis Star Tribune - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Liberal, conservative Jews in US increasingly divided over Trump - Chicago Tribune - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]
- Anti-Islamophobia debate might define both Liberals and Conservatives - CBC.ca - February 18th, 2017 [February 18th, 2017]