44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 13, 2022 10:00AM
- Dec/13/22 11:01:57 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I very much appreciated the speech made by the member across the aisle. It was a thoughtful speech, full of nuance, insight and goodwill. It was good to hear. Sometimes, members on the other side of the House say all sorts of ultra-partisan things, and it is difficult to find something interesting that we can build on. That is not the case today, and I appreciate that.
I like to see such a proactive attitude. The government wants to find a way to improve the situation in Tibet. I give it credit for that.
I heard my colleague refer to what is happening here in Canada. He said that we have an interesting division of powers and that the government is not entirely centralized. I found that interesting, although we cannot in any way compare the situation in Tibet with the situation in Quebec. I do not completely agree with my colleague on this.
How could he do more for Quebec so that Canada is an example for China on the international stage?
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- Dec/13/22 11:03:14 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the contribution of the member opposite.
With the Constitution of Canada, which dates back over 150 years, and with the changes that were made regarding the province that my colleague represents and all the other provinces, we have a way of managing the federation that gives the provinces a lot of power. That is what the Tibetans are looking for.
For example, Quebec has immigration rights. That is the kind of control and power that Tibet is looking for. It wants the same thing for its economy, culture and religion. If Canada can be example to the rest of the world in conflicts like this, it will help to resolve problems in a non-violent manner.
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- Dec/13/22 11:22:59 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for her speech. Her comments are always insightful.
I would like to get back to China and Tibet. This morning, we are talking about protecting the religious and language rights of Tibetans, who are facing the People’s Republic of China, a vast empire. We are still wondering how to deal with China. What can Canada do to influence China?
It feels that the opposite is happening, that China is interfering in our affairs. Recently, we heard that in Toronto there were police service stations controlled by China. That is something. A Chinese spy who worked for Hydro-Québec, an immense Quebec infrastructure, was exposed. That is significant.
The Prime Minister of Canada had dinner with members of the Chinese community in Toronto and, a few days later, certain members of that community were granted approval to operate a new bank. It seems that China has a lot of influence on Canada, but what can we do to turn the tables, especially in the case of Tibet, which we are currently discussing?
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- Dec/13/22 11:51:17 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I congratulate my honourable and very esteemed colleague for his very eloquent speech.
I would like to hear more from him on a contradiction that is quite surprising to members from Quebec arriving in the House of Commons. Indeed, we hear members from English Canada make utterly disgraceful statements about Bloc Québécois members, and yet we are the ones who must stand in the House to call members from both of the main parties to order. These members always act in their own interest, they play politics and get on like children. My hon. colleague for Montarville had to do it today, I have done it several times and all my colleagues do the same.
I would like to hear more from my colleague on this matter.
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- Dec/13/22 11:52:01 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Terrebonne for her question, which allows me to elaborate.
I would simply say that, contrary to what our colleagues may think, from its very inception, the Bloc Québécois made a solemn commitment to respect institutions. We are not here to throw a wrench in the works. We are here to ensure that Quebec gets its share within this country as long as it is part of Canada. We are here, of course, to promote what we feel is the best solution for Quebeckers, namely independence.
We should not be seen as a threat. We may be seen as a threat but, in reality, we are conscientious members who do not do things just to make others look bad. It is very surprising for us as sovereigntists to see the Conservatives and Liberals literally behave like boors in the House of Commons and in committees when we should be working together in the fundamental interest of Canadians and Quebeckers.
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- Dec/13/22 2:28:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, if I may, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would also like to offer our condolences to the family and friends of the former minister and member Jim Carr.
The Prime Minister has skilfully calculated that Quebec should take in 112,000 immigrants based on Ottawa's goal of welcoming 500,000. In doing so, he ignored the fact that there are about eight million francophones in the country and about 300 million anglophones on the North American continent. Oops. It was basic math. He himself is having such a hard time managing immigration that his government assigned 60,000 files to people who are no longer on the job.
Should he not double-check his math and let Quebec manage its own affairs on immigration and the French language?
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- Dec/13/22 2:29:11 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I merely pointed out that Quebec is entirely capable of increasing its immigration levels, if it wants to.
This decision is up to Quebec, and we respect Quebec's jurisdiction with regard to immigration, as we do across our system of government.
We will always work with the Quebec government and other governments across the country to protect the French language and to welcome francophone immigrants. We have a lot more work to do, but we will continue to do it.
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- Dec/13/22 2:29:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in the past 24 hours, the Prime Minister said that Quebec must take in 112,000 immigrants.
He says that he is not imposing that number. However, all the other times, he said that he would like to impose it. He sent a former minister and now sitting member to say that Bill 96 should be blocked, because the federal government obviously must not recognize Quebec's jurisdictions.
He is forgetting about Roxham Road and the thousands of irregular claimants, who would have a hard time integrating into French-speaking society, and he is forgetting about the thousands of francophone African students who he himself is preventing from entering Quebec.
Could he do the smart thing when it comes to the issue of language and recognize that the French language and immigration are Quebec's jurisdictions?
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- Dec/13/22 2:30:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that is exactly what I am doing. I did not propose any numbers for Quebec. I acknowledged that Quebec was capable of increasing its immigration levels, if it wanted to do so, because it has those powers. We recognize the important role that Quebec plays in protecting the French language and the Quebec nation. That is why we will continue to work respectfully with the Government of Quebec.
However, we do want to point out that the pre-emptive use of the notwithstanding clause is something that the federal government should never support.
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- Dec/13/22 2:41:21 p.m.
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It is groundhog day, Mr. Speaker. Once again, on Friday, all of the premiers of Quebec and the provinces called for a meeting with the Prime Minister on increasing health transfers. They costed their needs 27 months ago and are calling for a meeting. For 27 months, the Prime Minister has been ignoring them. For 27 months, their ability to provide health care to the public in our hospitals has been declining.
The Prime Minister is leaving everyone at an impasse to the detriment of patients and health care workers. Will he call this essential meeting on health care funding with his counterparts in January?
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- Dec/13/22 2:41:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for raising that issue.
The situation has indeed been very difficult for sick people, patients and workers across the country, including Quebec, for many months now. The situation was exacerbated by COVID-19, and the demographic pressures are such that, for the past few years, we have been seeing increased pressure on our health care workers and patients across the country. That is also what will happen in the long term. That is why we need to do things differently. Sending unconditional transfers to the provincial finance ministers is not a health care plan.
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- Dec/13/22 2:55:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, in Quebec, a man who was convicted of drug trafficking and possession of illegal guns avoided prison thanks to the Liberals' new legislation that eliminates minimum sentences for certain crimes committed with firearms. On one side, we have the Liberals who allow dangerous armed criminals to go free, and on the other, we have the Prime Minister who is going after hunters and farmers.
When will the Prime Minister stop attacking hunters and farmers and when will he start dealing with the real problems with criminals who are trafficking in firearms and drugs?
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- Dec/13/22 3:01:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, first of all, we are the first government to recognize the decline of French, and that is why we are moving forward with Bill C‑13. It is an ambitious bill that will make changes in federally regulated private businesses throughout Quebec and in regions with a strong francophone presence outside Quebec.
I think that when we look at the Commissioner of Official Languages' recommendations, it is important to give him more tools to do his job. He must do his job, and that is why we have really improved his work tools. We look forward to seeing the bill passed.
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- Dec/13/22 3:15:03 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there have been discussions among the parties, and if you seek it, I believe you will find unanimous consent for the following motion: That the House call on the Prime Minister to meet with the premiers of Quebec, the provinces and the territories as soon as possible regarding long-term sustainable funding for health care through the Canada health transfer.
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Madam Speaker, the member is absolutely right. We talk about our local news media or our local papers, and maybe someone is fortunate enough to have a local TV station. The local news media that is present in Quebec is obviously going to provide the local news and perspective for Quebec, and the local news media in Saskatchewan is going to provide our perspective, but when we see a bill like this, it is not going to boost and enrich the ability of the organizations to do what they are going to do. We are hearing the government say it is absolutely going to do that, but the reality is we always see that it is our small towns and our rural and remote communities that have people who have a diminished voice in this country. They are the ones who are always the first to lose out. They are the first ones to be eliminated because of decisions like this that are made.
We need to support and promote our small-town papers and our small-town TV and radio stations. The bill would not do that.
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