44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 11, 2023 10:00AM
- May/11/23 4:49:25 p.m.
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I myself am beginning to hear things I should not hear in this place, without even having to consult Hansard.
The hon. member for Mirabel on a point of order.
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- May/11/23 4:49:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I recognize that the subject can be sensitive for some, but the “racist” epithet used by the member for Timmins—James Bay who is attacking us on the basis of our deepest values—
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- May/11/23 4:49:49 p.m.
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I heard name-calling from both sides of the House. Surely it was in response to something else, but I heard it from both sides.
I remind hon. members to try to be as civil as possible in the House and to please restrain themselves.
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- May/11/23 4:50:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is not a good look on a party that calls itself progressive.
As I was saying, these are the objective and subjective criteria for a nation to be born. The people of Quebec form a nation.
Unfortunately, this recognition here is only symbolic. Indeed, the rest of Canada has always refused to enshrine that in the Constitution, to give it a legal effect. That is why Bill 101 was necessary and was passed in 1977, although we were told it was a Hitlerian law. The Quebec nation continues to speak French today thanks to this law.
At the end of the 1990s, I was saying that the use of French was declining. I kept saying that there would be an accelerated decline of French in Montreal. I was called a language zealot.
Today, on both sides of the House, they are trying to change the Official Languages Act while still considering the Quebec English-speaking community as a minority. We are now paying the price for what happened in 1982. What happened in 1982? Why has no Quebec premier, whether sovereignist or federalist, ever signed the Canadian Constitution since 1982? That is because, in 1982, we were deprived of our nationhood and minority status, quite simply.
Who forms the minority? According to the anglophones in Quebec, they do. If, indeed, the Canadian Constitution is built on the idea that there are 10 equal territories and that minority rights are protected, where do the rights of francophone Quebeckers fit in? Francophones are the minority in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and the Maritimes. Although they are a minority on the continent and in Canada, francophones are the majority in Quebec, which means they have no rights. That is how it was presented to the UN.
What did the UN say to Howard Galganov? It said that the so-called English-speaking minority in Quebec was not a minority, but a community that was part of the Canadian and continental majority. These things need to be remembered because I feel that, from one election to the next, historical and sociological references get lost.
I would like to say to my colleague from Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie that Quebec is asking to have its differences recognized and respected. As long as it is searching for recognition and respect of those differences, it cannot deny any other the same recognition and respect of its differences.
That is why, when people arrive in Quebec, we want to be able to welcome them in dignity. Dignity is not what multiculturalism has achieved over the years, by ghettoizing differences, turning these people into cheap labour, making them incapable of earning a decent living, even though some of them hold several degrees. Juxtaposing cultures is not what will allow us to live together in harmony.
I would like to highlight what Boucar Diouf, our national Boucar, has to say about this. On the subject of multiculturalism, he said, “It is impossible to live together without truly embodying the word ‘together’.”
Madam Speaker, I think members are talking a bit too loudly across the way.
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- May/11/23 4:54:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order.
I understand that the member for Timmins—James Bay feels the need to socialize, but I think he should do so quietly.
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- May/11/23 4:55:04 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like you to rule on whether we are allowed to walk over to talk with colleagues at any point. I do not mind staying in my seat, but I thought it was common practice that, if we have to speak to a minister about an issue and we do it respectfully, we are able to do that. Would you say that is the rule of the House?
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- May/11/23 4:55:20 p.m.
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That is the rule. I did not hear any particular noise, but I am not on that side of the House, so I cannot hear what my colleague may have heard. I do expect everybody to respect the rights of each member to speak and be heard.
An hon. member: It is like a rat.
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- May/11/23 4:55:42 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to quote Boucar Diouf, a Quebecker who considers himself a part of Quebec society and who says that our society is a close-knit one. He said, “It is impossible to live together without truly embodying the word ‘together’. Multiculturalism”—
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- May/11/23 4:56:09 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on a point of order, I understand people get heated in here and we have issues, but I thought I overheard a colleague from this side call a colleague on that side “a rat”.
If you look at the record and you listen to the Hansard, I hope you observe this and make a decision—
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- May/11/23 4:56:36 p.m.
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I have asked all to be very courteous with another. I will take it under advisement, and we will look at the Hansard.
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- May/11/23 4:56:48 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, on that point of order. I am reassured that I heard that. I would never believe that my colleague from the Bloc would use such unparliamentary language.
Is the term “rat” unparliamentary? I believe it is. I think it is a very ignorant thing to say, if he did say it. I was not sure that he would say that, and I was so shocked—
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- May/11/23 4:57:04 p.m.
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I have said we will look into it and check the Hansard. The Speaker will come back with a decision.
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- May/11/23 4:57:15 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the NDP members obviously do not want me to read that quote, and yet it is universalist. As I was saying, “Multiculturalism is much more like living side by side and harbouring frustrations with one another, with results that fall far short of the ideal presented by politicians.”
The truth is that multiculturalism rejects the idea of a common culture, encouraging the coexistence of multiple cultures side by side. It favours cohabitation based on indifference rather than on recognition and the respect of differences, which invariably leads to the ghettoization of cultures.
That is why what we in Quebec want is an intercultural model based on three fundamental principles that form a common standard that protects Quebec's distinctiveness. Being a Quebecker has nothing to do with looking like a Quebecker. Being a Quebecker is first and foremost a political choice. A person can identify as a Canadian. I respect that. They can also identify as a Quebecker. We hope that everyone who settles in Quebec can get on board with that and identify as Quebeckers. It is up to them how they identify themselves.
We are asking for respect for what defines the soul of the nation, in other words French. We cannot welcome 500,000 people a year and not tell them that Quebec's official language is French.
Secularism is a principle that my colleagues surely agree with. It is important to Quebec, which had its Quiet Revolution and separated church and state. The other principle is equality between men and women. From there, each person, with their diversity, can indeed come build the country with us and that is what we want.
How is any of that xenophobic? How is it racist? These are values born of philosophical liberalism that are meant to be at the very core of the political foundation of every member in the House.
I am out of time. I thank the members from the NDP for sabotaging my speech.
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- May/11/23 5:00:46 p.m.
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I just want to reassure the member for Montcalm that he was given his full speaking time.
The hon. member for Mission—Matsqui—Fraser Canyon.
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- May/11/23 5:01:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, after eight years of Justin Trudeau, Canada's immigration system—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Mr. Brad Vis: Madam Speaker, pardon me. I apologize.
After eight years of the Liberal government, Canada's immigration system is broken. With a backlog of over two million and an average processing time of over 20 months, targets simply will not be met. For skilled workers under the federal stream, in 2019, processing an application took 9 months. Today, it has tripled to 27 months.
Why is the Government of Canada so slow at processing workers, whom we need in Quebec, in British Columbia and across Canada?
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- May/11/23 5:01:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, that is a very good question.
Every year, around the same time, we have to deal with the foreign worker issue. Nothing moves any faster, yet these are housekeeping issues.
More concerning here is that the Century Initiative has in no way calculated the impact that these immigration thresholds would have on the reality of Quebec's linguistic demographics and the vitality of the French language in Quebec. At the same time, the federalist parties on both sides of the House boast about how important it is to defend the French fact in Canada. In my opinion, they are improvising. Gérard Bouchard, though a measured person, is outraged. He has vehemently criticized this plan.
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- May/11/23 5:02:56 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his stories and explanation today, but I would also just like to perhaps reassure the House and set the record straight. I lived in Quebec for 28 years and my daughter was born there.
I will go back to the question I asked his colleague. Canada transfers significant amounts of money to Quebec for its francization programs and, unfortunately, more than 75% of last year's funds were not used by the Quebec government. Could my colleague enlighten me and explain why these funds were not used to help francization in Quebec?
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- May/11/23 5:03:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, perhaps the money had to be spent on health care, given this year's paltry health transfer.
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- May/11/23 5:04:05 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I want to follow up on the excellent question asked by my Conservative colleague.
Toronto has a very large population from France. They are professionals, and I have spoken with a number of them who work in journalism and television. I have asked them why they come to Canada, and they say they are tired of the culture wars in France, the xenophobia and the growing alienation of outsiders.
They feel inclusive. However, the problem is that we are inviting people into the country, but we do not have housing, so then people cannot afford to live. We are failing at that. We have a real opportunity to invite people who are coming from countries where they are tired of the xenophobia and say we are a welcoming country, but we need to make sure we are able to utilize these incredible talents coming from all over the world so they can build our society.
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- May/11/23 5:04:55 p.m.
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Madam Spear, up to now, I did not really understand why my colleague talked about xenophobia in his speech. I do not believe that my speech could be deemed xenophobic.
The fact remains that what we want is to be able to welcome people in a satisfactory manner, with dignity, so they can fully participate in building the Quebec nation and ensuring its survival. We must recognize that Quebec has an additional challenge that is not shared by the rest of Canada, as Canada has a huge desire to welcome a large number of people without ensuring that it has the ability to give them a dignified life.
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