‘Gender identity’ bill passes House of Commons in 149-137 vote
Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) OTTAWA, March 20, 2013 ( LifeSiteNews.com ) – Canada’s House of Commons voted 149 to 137 on Wednesday evening to pass an NDP-backed bill that would add “ gender identity ” to the Canadian Human Rights Act . The bill now heads to the Senate. The vote was largely on party lines, with the Conservatives opposing and the NDP, Liberals, Bloc, and Green parties supporting it. But, notably, was only able to pass with the support of 17 Conservative members, including cabinet ministers such as Jim Flaherty , John Baird, James Moore, and Lisa Raitt . A previous version of the bill, which would have also added “gender expression” to the act, had passed the House in 2011 but died in the Senate when the 2011 federal election was called. The bill has been controversial, with critics arguing that the bill would effectively abolish the distinction between male and female under Canadian law . Some have also dubbed it the “b