Madam Speaker, today's Bloc Québécois motion is particularly important to us. It is what we think about the likelihood or the possibility of renewing federalism. We have quite a challenge ahead of us: to prove that sovereignty alone will make Quebec economically viable and allow it to flourish culturally.
Why do we believe that federalism has not been renewed 20 years after the Meech Lake accord? It is because of the actions of the successive governing parties, the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party. They immediately reject any National Assembly consensus. A consensus is not reached by sovereignists alone. Federalists are also actively involved in unanimous decisions coming out of the National Assembly on numerous political issues.
First, I want to talk about Quebec's political weight. There is a bill that would add 30 ridings to those represented in Parliament, which means that Quebec's political weight would be reduced. The Constitution allows us to have 75 members. However, when it comes to political weight, 75 members out of 308 is very different from 75 members out of 338. Where are the Quebec members that have been elected to this House? They are working with the members of this Parliament who stand out because of their interest in nation building—building a centralist Canada—and because of their refusal to recognize Quebec's distinct society. The House recognized it, but that was symbolic. Truly recognizing the Quebec nation comes from small, daily political actions.
Quebec cannot opt out with full compensation, nor can it choose three Supreme Court justices. We want bilingual judges who can hear English and French arguments made by those seeking their support or a ruling. But they come up with bad excuses. For example, the Quebec Conservatives defend their party's position on the grounds that they would not want a francophone judge to be denied the opportunity to sit on the Supreme Court bench. That argument does not hold water. In addition, 71% of Quebeckers have said no to reducing Quebec's political weight. Others have weighed in on the possibility of having bilingual judges on the Supreme Court. And Quebec does not have the power to veto constitutional amendments.
Quebec's most pressing and longest-standing demands have been ignored. Quebeckers have been marginalized, and the government has refused to limit spending power even though the Conservatives made a campaign promise to do so. Every time we look at the federal government's programs, it is clear that although the government has changed, the way of doing business when it comes to Quebec has not. The Bloc Québécois and sovereignists have to prove that sovereignty is the only way for the Quebec nation to reach its full potential. In many cases, education is the key because some of these issues are complex.
Earlier, my colleagues mentioned securities and how securities management would be transferred to Toronto. Our finance critic can show that this is wrong and would strip Quebec of its economic power. Moreover, a coalition is forming in Quebec to show that this system will hurt Quebec. It is not a sovereignist that said so, but Mr. Bachand, Quebec's finance minister. He said he would mobilize businesspeople to oppose the federal bill to establish a single securities commission, which is about to be introduced in Ottawa. Mr. Bachand feels that the federal bill infringes on provincial jurisdictions and, by centralizing the securities commission in Toronto, threatens the very future of the financial sector in Montreal.
Earlier, I talked about nation building. This is exactly what the Conservatives are doing: building a centralized nation. We have nothing against that, but the government needs to prove to us that this has socio-economic benefits for Quebec. Mr. Bachand said that centralizing the securities commission in Ontario would serve Toronto's interests. All the economic players need to get behind this position and condemn the federal government for being so determined to centralize everything that is done in the other provinces, as the House Leader of the Bloc Québécois said earlier. So securities are coming to Toronto.
The Bloc conducted a survey. Twenty years after the Bloc was created, that is what led to this motion today. The figures speak for themselves. Earlier, my colleague said that there were two visions within Canada, but those two visions lead to two solitudes. Two solitudes, one of which is Quebec, which is still demanding its due. The Conservatives and the Liberals are no different in their approach. One party may be a bit more hypocritical than the other, because it announced that it would recognize the Quebec nation, yet it has done nothing to prove that it really does recognize the Quebec nation. The government's attitude is evident in its securities bill and its position on Quebec's weight in the House, on having Bill 101 apply in institutions under federal jurisdiction and on allowing their employees to be governed by Bill 101. The government even said no to that, just as it did to harmonizing the GST with the QST. Clearly, it has no desire to take real political action that would partially satisfy Quebec. That shows that this federalism cannot be renewed.
I am really disappointed. I also think it is appalling that some hon. members from Quebec are elected—whether under the banner of the Liberal Party or the Conservative Party—and rise in this House to vote against each Quebec consensus and to vote against the economic growth and the development of Quebec within this federation.
When we were informed about the recognition of Quebec as a nation, we really wanted to believe it. We told ourselves that we were going to witness many concrete actions that would result in Quebec being included in this federation. In fact, it is not a federation, it is federated centralization. That is the opposite of what we think of when we approach the subject of the Canadian federation because Quebec has no say in several of the projects that the federal government wants to see implemented, such as securities.
The Quebec lieutenant, who is from my region, rose in the House to defend that in the name of his government. This morning, the member from Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles, a riding close to mine, defended the securities commission project. In addition, he has risen in the House to vote against the application of Bill 101 in federal institutions and risen when we talk about reducing Quebec's weight in the House. He is under the impression that Quebec is well served by Canada's so-called federation.
But they do not rise when it is time to vote to support Quebec's forestry sector. They are on their feet to vote $10 billion budgets for Ontario and peanuts for Quebec. They have announced a grant of $100 million for one program. That is not what it means to help an ailing industry.
For five years, we have wanted to show the current government and the previous government that something had to be done to save these industries. They could have diversified and explored the means available to help them survive. Cash flow and loan guarantees would have been needed to get through the economic crisis they were thrown into. Once the industries have shut down, it is very difficult to get them up and running again.
This morning, a lot of figures were mentioned. In Quebec, 73% of people said they wanted Quebec to be recognized as a nation, with all the powers that entails and with a special status. To recognize Quebec as a nation, we need concrete actions.
The only possible reading is that federalism is not renewable and that there are two solitudes. We will show that, in fact, nothing is being done to make it beneficial to Quebec.