Thank you.
I support breaking it down into one motion.
I listened to my colleague from the Conservatives. I hear that line all the time in the dumbed-down talking notes in the House of Commons, that because you did not vote with the government you are bad. That works in question period. I don't think it has any credibility around this table.
Regardless of whether the Bloc supports the government or not, they are here, just as I am here, just as the Liberals are here, to scrutinize decisions that are made. That is what the role of this committee is.
Concerning the idea of having a fair balance by having a limit of two festivals per community, that makes sense if you're dealing with communities of equal size across the country. The city of Toronto is the size of a number of provinces, and Montreal is as well. To say you're going to have only two festivals supported in a city like Toronto or Montreal is frankly absurd. It sounds like an ad hoc explanation, and we should hear from officials as to why they made that decision. That is a fair question to ask.
There are also questions that need to be asked because we know there's been a lot of controversy about the funding of Pride Week in Toronto. If my colleagues have ever been in Toronto in Pride Week they will know you can't drive anywhere. This is one of the biggest economic drivers in the city of Toronto. This is not just a festival like many other festivals. This is a massive coming together of people.
We noted that last year when the government supported the Pride Week festival many noxious statements were made by Conservative members regarding it. There were questions whether Madam Ablonczy was downsized from her portfolio for supporting Pride Week. A lot of people were left wondering why this government seemed to be so opposed to the Pride Week festival. Is it a social conservative agenda? Perhaps. Then we see this year the Pride Week was left out entirely. Those questions returned, and I think those are legitimate questions to ask.
So I would certainly support my colleague in her motion.