Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure for me today to take the floor and present my position and that of the Bloc Québécois on motion No. 299 tabled by the member for Papineau. This motion proposes the creation of a national voluntary service policy for young people, although this is clearly Quebec's jurisdiction.
Should I also remind the member for Papineau that Quebec has already developed its own youth action strategy by consulting 1,200 young people and groups from all sectors. In addition, several programs make it possible for Quebec's youth to be open to the world. The motion to put in place a national voluntary service for young people is a duplication of what is already being done in Quebec and clearly infringes on Quebec's and the provinces' jurisdiction.
What the motion under discussion today is proposing is that we set aside Quebec's policies and its area of jurisdiction and that we put forward a national policy as called for by the Katimavik organization in the document Engaging Youth in the National Civic Service.
Katimavik appeals to the federal government to commit to a long-term funding strategy. This would enable us to better respond to the ever increasing demand for the program...This would confirm Canada's commitment to national youth service and the importance of the successful integration of our youth in the social and economic fabric of our society.
Although I agree with the principle of integrating young people into society and assisting non-profit organizations is laudable, the fact remains that a national policy is not within the federal jurisdiction. Quebec has its own policy. If it wishes to fund Katimavik it will choose to do so without the federal government dictating its priorities. In addition, Quebec's 2006-09 youth strategy already provides support to Katimavik for its Eco-Internship, a voluntary service program focused on the environment, through a $1.4 million subsidy for implementing an environmental project to be deployed in several Quebec regions.
So Quebec has made its own choices, using its own expertise, in its own areas of jurisdiction. The Bloc Québécois agrees that it is important to fund a youth policy to help our young people develop their full potential and acquire the necessary tools for the future of our societies, but that is a Quebec responsibility. The Quebec nation is acting on this and wants the federal government to transfer to it the funds required so that it may invest them as it chooses.
In “Canadian Views on Volunteer Service and a National Youth Service Policy”, a report on a survey carried out by Katimavik, several of the survey questions reveal other intrusions by this national policy. Example: “Do you think that having high school or university students do a certain amount of compulsory community service hours as a condition of graduating is a good or bad idea?” This question deals with imposing volunteer hours for students before they can get their diplomas. What makes the feds think they can decide about curricula in Quebec and the provinces?
Quebec has exclusive authority over education. The 1867 Constitution Act is clear on this in sections 93 and 93A. However, despite this clarity, the federal government has increasingly intruded into this field and is trying to impose its own priorities by any means possible.
The federal initiatives proposed by the federal government have never been disavowed by the Conservative government which not only is pursuing its initiatives but trying to add more.
The 1998 budget was a milestone year in the federal government's desire to trample over Quebec's jurisdiction over education, with its millennium scholarships program. Even today, this represents one of the worst intrusions by the federal government into areas of exclusive Quebec and provincial jurisdiction. It took two years for an agreement to be reached between the millennium foundation and Quebec in order to recognize the specific nature of Quebec, which has the most generous loan and scholarship system in all of North America. However, that agreement did limit Quebec's ability to be the true master of its education system, because the Canada millennium scholarship foundation could stop payments if it did not agree with legitimate changes in orientation by the Government of Quebec.
Finally, in the 2008-09 budget, the Conservative government is announcing the end of the millennium scholarships and the gradual disappearance of the foundation. The program is to be replaced by a new student grant program.
The government claims that it will fully respect Quebec's jurisdiction—forgive me if I sound skeptical—and that it will have the right to opt out with full compensation. We will see.
The motion also suggests using as its point of departure the work done by the Voluntary Sector Initiative in 2003, which sought to improve quality of life in Canada through the twin objectives of strengthening the relationship between the Government of Canada and the voluntary sector and the capacity of the voluntary sector to better serve Canadians.
More than 125 representatives of both sectors sat at joint tables that focused on the twin objectives. However, Quebec was under-represented for various reasons. In addition to the fact that negotiations to develop a policy that would accomplish the same goals as the initiative were taking place between organizations and Quebec, other elements excluded Quebec organizations, as indicated in the final evaluation report:
Quebec involvement was not aided by the perception that the VSI process was based on an “English Canadian model”: the language used in documents often did not resonate well in Quebec; many of the Quebec participants felt quite isolated; the working language was English; and the consultation processes did not make effective use of the provincial networks in Quebec. Moreover, at the same time negotiations with the provincial government were ongoing with the hopes of developing a policy of recognition and support for the community sector which would serve the same purpose as the accord. Many organizations in Quebec felt their time was better invested in these negotiations and hence the VSI was not able to draw in or engage key players from Quebec.
In addition, looking to interfere in one of Quebec's jurisdictions, the federal government did not even invite the Government of Quebec to this consultation, which was being held to conduct the same sort of evaluation. Instead, the federal government, in its wisdom, left Quebec out and went ahead with a more “anglo” approach to managing community organizations.
The exchange mechanisms put in place by the federal government are at risk of getting bogged down in politics. For example, take the Society for Educational Visits and Exchanges in Canada or SEVEC. SEVEC is a charitable organization focused on education that offers three different types of programs for young people: exchanges, educational trips and forums.
SEVEC's mission is to create, promote and facilitate enriching educational opportunities for youth within Canada for the development of mutual respect and understanding through programs of exploration in language, culture, and community.
So far, the principle of the program does not seem to irritate anyone too much, aside from the obvious interference in Quebec's areas of jurisdiction. But the principle of educational enrichment and mutual understanding hides the propagandist aspect of the program funded by Youth Exchanges Canada.
The template letter young people can use to thank their member of Parliament reads in part as follows:
I am writing to let you know that it was an unforgettable experience for my group, and that we are even more proud to be Canadian because of it.
Once again, behind a noble cause, we see the government's true intentions in funding national programs. Would a national voluntary service policy for youth also fall victim to the desire to spread federalist propaganda using a self-development program? Once again, the Liberals are trying to use worthy causes to interfere in Quebec's jurisdictions.
Given that the motion sets out a series of intrusions into Quebec's jurisdictions; given that Quebec already has its own 2006-2009 Youth Action Strategy, which includes enhancing young people's participation in society; and given that Quebec also has programs that promote exchanges with students around the world, the Bloc Québécois and I are opposed to the motion put forward by the member for Papineau.
