A bill to clarify that sterilization procedures count as wounding or maiming under the Criminal Code. Members mostly gave sincere thanks and congratulations to each other for supporting the bill.
“I want all members to support this bill so we can show we did something about sterilization. We should keep spending money on the issue. The bill provides clarity by making sterilization without valid consent a form of assault, but does not change consent requirements.”
“Thank you for supporting my bill. Survivors showed courage and relived trauma to speak about this. They want to protect future generations. I want to protect future generations too.”
“I want to praise the member for his bill and his commitment. It's a difficult issue. I want to talk about what victims said in committee. This happened recently. A woman trusted the medical team but they sterilized her without consent. I want to know what the member thinks about reconciliation.”
“I want to thank the Bloc member for his support on this bill and the previous bill. I miss working with him on the committee. The testimony we heard was traumatic and recent. I want to act now to fix this problem.”
“I want people to always believe women who say they are victims. It's wrong when a judge doesn't believe 48 women. How do we make sure all women coming forward are always believed?”
“I'm talking about Red Dress Day before I start. It's very sad. Then I'm talking about a law to stop forced sterilization. This happened a lot in the past. It was very bad. It hurt many women. The government should make it clearly illegal. We need to trust our institutions to stop this from happening. This bill is good. It will pass into law soon.”
“I'm using the missing indigenous women issue to introduce a big emotional story. I didn't think human trafficking still existed. I can't believe this forced sterilization bill is even needed in 2026. I want the government to establish rules protecting women's bodily autonomy. This is a terrible issue from our dark colonial past. Sterilization is still happening to vulnerable indigenous women who can't give real consent. We need a clear law to protect women and punish doctors who do this. I support this bill but Quebec's health jurisdiction must be respected. The government also needs to train doctors and raise awareness to end the stigma. This bill is a step towards never allowing forced sterilization again.”
“I want to say that forced sterilization is really really bad. This bill will make it very clear that it's a crime. It won't change much else, but it's a start. We heard from many people and worked together on this.”
“I want you to know that forced sterilization is violence. It's a crime. That's what this bill says. I'm going to a summit about missing and murdered indigenous women. We need action.”
“I'm filling time by talking about how important this bill is. It's very important. I want to add to what my friend said. Women need to be consulted, especially indigenous and Black women. Tomorrow is Red Dress Day. That's important too. Let's remember missing and murdered women. This affect marginalized women a lot. Some people think no one will look for them.”
