Stephen Harper’s decision on Parliament may set back transgender ‘bathroom bill’
English: Stephen Harper, Canadian Prime Minister (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) OTTAWA, August 22, 2013 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) - Prime Minister Stephen Harper 's recently announced decision to prorogue Parliament has the effect of killing all legislation currently being considered by the government, including the controversial transgender bill. The bill, C-279, seeks to include “gender identity” and “gender expression” as protected rights in the hate crimes sections of the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code. Since it is a private members bill, government rules stipulate that all such bills are automatically reinstated when a new session of Parliament begins. Bill C-279 was before the Senate, but failed to pass third and final reading before the summer break. Harper made the announcement that he plans to ask the Governor General to prorogue Parliament at a news conference in Whitehorse on Monday. Prorogation shuts down the session of Parliament with the co