Official Languages Committee on June 20th, 2006

[Vivian Barbot, Bloc, Papineau, QC]

Mr. Chairman, I have a question of privilege. I do not understand the intervention. It was never a question of racism. I do not understand why Mr. Harvey is making this allegation.

[Luc Harvey, Conservative, Louis-Hébert, QC]

Ms. Barbot, allow me to complete my thought and you will understand. I am in no way suggesting that you were guilty of racism. That is not it at all. I merely said that if I had thought that the welcome given Mr. Diouf had been reprehensible—some people have claimed that what happened to Mr. Diouf was racially motivated, and I am not saying that you said that — I would be the first one to support your motion.

After the fact, I took the time to meet with several ambassadors who had also received their president, prime minister or representative during the Francophonie Summit in Saint-Boniface, and I was told a number of things.

There are two possibilities. I suggest we invite one of the ambassadors responsible for receiving dignitaries to explain to us that it had been highly recommended that all the dignitaries come through the Montreal Airport, first because it is a francophone airport and, second, because people at that airport had been informed of the event taking place in Saint-Boniface. Mr. Diouf made the decision to transit through Toronto and he advised no one of this.

This is something that was not reported in the newspapers and not communicated to the public in general. I am not even asking you to believe me. If everyone is in agreement, I am prepared to invite an ambassador who received a dignitary to come to explain that to us, so that we can understand that, ultimately, Mr. Diouf did not receive an improper welcome, given the situation. He simply failed to follow the directives he had been sent.

If I help you, you have to help me. Mr. Diouf failed to take the recommended route. He decided to transit through Toronto rather than Montreal, rather than what he had been asked to do. When I heard this, I felt that it was important, and that is why I am taking the time to explain it to everyone. But I am not necessarily asking you to believe me.

We can quite simply invite the Ambassador of Togo to come and explain it to us, since there had been an information session three weeks earlier in order to ensure, once again, that everything would run smoothly.

[Peter Julian, NDP, Burnaby—New Westminster, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I do not see the relevancy of Mr. Harvey's intervention. It is normal for this committee to consider such matters. I think that the motion is quite well written. It is important for the committee to vote on this motion, and I hope that it will receive the support of all members of the committee.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Mr. Simard.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.

I understand what Mr. Harvey is saying. Nonetheless, I want to clarify that I was the one who raised this question in the House. This conference was held in my region. As I said in a previous meeting, I had the opportunity to meet the Senegalese Foreign Affairs Minister. Members of his entourage, and not Mr. Diouf, were the ones who demanded an apology from Canadian authorities. Mr. Diouf was truly treated badly. I was told what happened.

Even if he was supposed to arrive in Montreal, what happened is unforgivable. Our airports, be it in Montreal or Toronto, are supposed to provide bilingual services. When we invite a dignitary of that calibre, we must ensure that he gets the treatment he deserves.

I assured the Senegalese Foreign Affairs Minister that this committee would do the right thing. I would have preferred that the motion ask the Prime Minister apologize. We know that it was a mistake. The Prime Minister and the minister responsible for official languages certainly did not plan to have Mr. Diouf subjected to such treatment upon his arrival. However, I cannot understand why no one has apologized to him. This is completely irresponsible. The Prime Minister should have done so in the House of Commons. It would have taken no more than three seconds. He has been asked on numerous occasions to do so, but he has refused each time. I am quite prepared to apologize as a member of the official languages committee, but I don't think that this is enough.

Mr. Diouf was President of Senegal for 17 or 19 years. He is respected throughout the world. Thanks to him, Senegal has become one of the most advanced countries in Africa. It is entirely unacceptable to have treated him this way.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Mr. Blaney.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

I will be brief since much has already been said about this matter.

When Ms. Verner appeared before the committee to talk about this matter, she gave us an explanation. I appreciate the fact that some members of the committee wanted to meet with her before considering the motion. I personally am satisfied with the explanation provided by Ms. Verner. I think that it would be useless to reopen a wound that is healing. In my opinion, the appropriate action was taken.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you, Mr. Blaney.

Ms. Boucher.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

As Steven said, things that are now in the past are continually being revived. Mr. Diouf himself wrote a letter. Mr. Harper and Ms. Verner spoke to the individual concerned. The situation is clear. I don't know why we are rehashing something that happened a month ago. An apology was made; Mr. Harper said in the House that he had spoken to the person in question and that that person had expressed satisfaction. So why rehash it? We need to move on. Since the individuals concerned are in agreement, it would be a sign of respect for Mr. Diouf if people stopped making an issue out of this.

Mr. Harper and Ms. Verner communicated with Mr. Diouf. We received information from Ms. Verner and other dignitaries who went to Saint-Boniface. They told us how everything worked. This situation makes me more uncomfortable than anything else.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you.

Ms. Barbot.

[Vivian Barbot, Bloc, Papineau, QC]

Contrary to what the member just said, no apology was made. Even though it has been said and resaid, I must insist on the fact that the Government of Senegal has demanded that we do so. I was there. The Senegalese ambassador demanded an apology. I spoke to him. That is the situation.

I will have to see these people again within the framework of the Francophonie. Having this swept under the rug like this is extremely embarrassing, to say the least. I think it is very important for the committee to do this. We are directly involved in this situation.

I waited to meet with the minister before introducing my motion, which has been ready since June 13. You will remember that I asked for a more in-depth explanation. But we did not get anything. I think that the motion is still timely, unfortunately, and that the only way to move forward is to vote on it.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you, Ms. Barbot.

Mr. Rodriguez.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Ms. Barbot said what I wanted to say. If I understand correctly, the motion was prepared earlier. You are asking us to wait until we hear from the minister. Ms. Barbot is not satisfied with the minister's explanation, and she is officially tabling her motion. That is why we are at this point today.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Does anyone else wish to speak?

Mr. Lemieux.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

I don't believe that the government received a complaint from the Senegalese minister. Someone told you that, but perhaps it was a personal opinion. If it was serious, why didn't they ask one of our ministers who was there? Ms. Verner spoke with the delegation, and everything was fine. I think that this is important. Like Ms. Boucher said, everything was fine in the opinion of Mr. Diouf, who sent our government a letter saying that he had received a proper welcome. Why would he write such a letter if this were not true?

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Thank you.

Mr. Murphy.

[Brian Murphy, Liberal, Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, NB]

I was mayor of the City of Moncton when we hosted the Francophonie Summit and 50 heads of state. We made mistakes and we apologized. With regard to Mr. Diouf, it's not about explanations or mistakes, it's about an official apology. If the small City of Moncton was able to do it, the Government of Canada should have the decency to make an official apology.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Ms. Barbot.

[Vivian Barbot, Bloc, Papineau, QC]

For your information, Senegal made a written official request — you can consult the minutes of the meeting — in which it asks the Government of Canada to make an official apology.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Mr. Simard.

[Raymond Simard, Liberal, Saint Boniface, MB]

Similarly, the Foreign Affairs Minister of Senegal even spoke at the conference in front of Minister Verner and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. MacKay. He was extremely direct in asking Canada to apologize. Mr. Diouf said in his letter that he was satisfied with the treatment he had received. The minister suggested to me that Mr. Diouf was satisfied with the reception he had received from the Franco-Manitobans, but not with how he was received in Toronto, I can assure you. We must distinguish between the two.

I am extremely proud of the francophone community in Manitoba. This gentleman was well received. Mr. Diouf was nice enough to say that he had been well received by us. However, if we were to ask him how he was received in Toronto, I don't think his answer would be the same. Today we are not talking about how he was received in Manitoba, but rather how he was received when he arrived in Canada.

[Luc Harvey, Conservative, Louis-Hébert, QC]

I took a look at the official document on Courtesy and Accelerated Customs Clearance — Entry Privilege, which is not six months or a year old. This is an official manual on protocol and all related practices. What I'm saying is in there. I didn't make it up. A stopover and a final destination are two very different things. That is the starting point.

We were never afraid of supporting a motion, be it from the Liberals or the Bloc members. We support anything based on common sense and we are here to work together. I think that we are ??? around this issue. I am not making anything up, this is a real document.

I took the time to personally meet with the ambassadors. They told me there was no need for an apology. I didn't ask the Senegalese Ambassador this question, but rather individuals outside the embassy. They told me that there was no need to apologize.

This is an official Canadian government document on procedure, how to proceed, etc. If you want to adopt the motion we cannot stop you. I am trying to wear my peacekeeper's hat and tell you that there is logic and reason and that this is the situation.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Mr. Lemieux.

[Pierre Lemieux, Conservative, Glengarry—Prescott—Russell, ON]

No, thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, Guy Lauzon]

Ms. Brunelle.