A Private Members Bill (PMB) is the vehicle that allows a Member of Parliament to propose legislation of personal significance to them.

It may or may not reflect the view of the political party the member represents. Often it is a reflection of the views or concerns expressed by the member's constituents.

Within the Canadian Alliance Party all voteable Private Members Bills are treated as "free votes." Recent examples are the bill on labelling of genetically modified foods and the current bill on the de-criminalization of marijuana.

The following is my first Private Members Bill on behalf of the people of Kamloops Thompson Highland Valleys

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:
The Crown Liability and Proceedings Act is amended by adding the following after section 32: 32.1 (1) Despite this Act or any other Act of Parliament, a person may not bring any proceeding against the Crown, a servant of the Crown or others acting on its behalf in respect of anything done or omitted in the exercise of any power of authority exercisable by the Crown after the expiration of 25 years after the right to do so arose. (2) The right to bring a proceeding under subsection (1) is limited to the person who suffered the injury, loss or damage, who must have been a Canadian citizen or entitled to Canadian citizenship at the time that the cause of action arose.(3) In the case of a person who fails to bring a claim within 25 years, Parliament may set up a public forum to facilitate the express of the grievance and the reconciliation of the claim.

The purpose of this PMB is to amend this particular act by limiting to 25 years the time allowed for individuals or groups to bring an action against the Canadian government for historical wrongs, and to provide a public forum for the airing and reconciliation of past claims or grievances.

A PMB is the only way an MP can make a statement about something they (and their constituents) feel particularly strong about. I believe you cannot plan for the future if you are constantly paying for, or dealing with, the past. That is why I entered this proposal in the PMB lottery. My hope is that it will be drawn and put before my colleagues for meaningful discussion.

The thoughts for this bill come from my belief that the threat of liability prevents a sincere expression of regret being offered and stifles development of a plan for healing/growth of the victims. Throwing money at a problem does not always heal the injured. An example that is going on right now in our country is the fiasco between the churches, government and courts regarding liability in the residential school issue. I see a government cop-out that penalizes today's church members who are mortgaging their beliefs to pay for mistakes that happened years ago. Churches - institutions that are there to serve all - are being forced to close as their funds get eaten up by legally trying to defend themselves in court. How is this process healing those who were injured and defamed by some of the treatments meted out at certain Residential Schools.

Government doesn't generate income it consumes it. When someone sues the government, they actually sue their neighbours, friends and family members. I am concerned about today's generation. I'd like to find a way to prevent the repetition of past mistakes and, I'd like to move on to plan for tomorrow. These are all good reasons to look for new answers.

If you'd like to know more about the process that a Private Members Bill has to go through to get on the floor of the House of Commons visit my website at bettyhinton.ca or call my office at 851-4991 for a hand-out we have prepared.

Vocal right-winger and Canadian Alliance appointed Native Affairs policy maker - now self-annointed champion of the churches, Betty Hinton has come to the defence and rescue of those who have been crying the financial blues over legal costs to defend themselves against claims by former Aboriginal students.

The Chairman of the Canadian Alliance Leader's Advisory Committee on Indian and Northern Affairs is not supportive of ongoing efforts by Aboriginal people to seek compensation through the courts for suffering abuse at Indian residential schools.

Hinton, the Kamloops Member of Parliament and the person responsible for helping develop the Canadian Alliance party's always evolving (do they believe in evolution?) Aboriginal policy ( dream plan? ) for when they form a Canadian government - ( and then they woke up ) - is promoting a proposal for a new law that would place a time limit on the compensation for past wrongs.

She plans to introduce a Private Member's Bill in the House of Commons to include a 25 year limit on anyone wanting to launch lawsuits against the Canadian government to get compensated for what happened in the past.

Her point is that Canadian churches are suffering because they are being made to pay for the government's mistakes involving abuse at residential schools. This, despite significiant court rulings and legal precedents related to vicarious liability and the legal and financial responsibility of both parties, for the well documented abuse against the children --- including the churches, their staff and clergy that ran the schools for the government.

Hinton's proposed law doesn't stand much chance of getting passed --- unless of course, as cynics suggest, the governing Liberals a.k.a. the Department of Justice and Treasury Board might like the money-saving particulars of this Alliance proposal.

Even the most sensible and practical among them --- Private Members Bills have a well known history of failure. They tend to die a natural death after being used by opposition MPs who launch into plenty of partisan political oratory in the House of Commons, play to the media with controversial and unusual proposals, as they get political mileage back in their home ridings.

Despite her plan to place a preventative barrier in front of Aboriginal efforts to get compensation for dastardly deeds done in the name of God and country, Hinton said she favours a healing process and suggested something similar to a Truth and Healing Commission like what they had for blacks in South Africa when the white government's racial apartheid ended.

As the saying goes, politics makes strange bedfellows. The Assembly of First Nations national chief has said he too favours such a tribunal or commission but certainly not in the same context as the Canadian Alliance.

Some Aboriginal leaders believe 'enough is enough'. Because of the ongoing squabbles between the churches and government and lengthy delays in making sure the Survivors of abuse get their day in court to get justice and fair compensation, they believe there should be a public inquiry into what took place at the residential schools.

Recently for example, Chief Robert Joseph, executive director of the Indian Residential Schools SURVIVORS Society in British Columbia, (previously known as the Provincial Residential School Project) said if the churches and governments continued their debates over who should pay, and they continued their denial of what really happened to Aboriginal children in those schools, he saw "a full national inquiry", as the only way to make sure the Survivors get justice.

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