Thank you.
Good afternoon.
I am delighted for the opportunity to appear before you to discuss social trust and civic engagement.
As a graduate of Laval University 37 years ago, I am also delighted to be able to speak in French today. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen often in Alberta.
Today I will touch on three topics. The first is the rule of law and equality before the law. The second is how equity, diversity and inclusion, or EDI, undermines social trust, and the third is how the federal government can increase civic engagement.
Social trust is the trust Canadians have towards fellow citizens who are not family members or friends. It depends very heavily on the rule of law.
The Roman goddess Justicia wore a blindfold so she couldn't see the skin colour or other characteristics of the people who appeared before her. The principle behind the blindfold was “equal rights for all, special privileges for none”.
Social trust cannot be strengthened when the law applies differently depending on race or other personal characteristics. We were all created in the image of God. Every person has intrinsic value as a human being.
The preamble of the charter states, “Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law”. The statement is followed by a colon, not a period. This means that the contents of the charter flow from the supremacy of God and the rule of law.
To enhance social trust, we need to emphasize what unites us rather than what divides us. The rule of law is undermined, if not completely destroyed, when citizens are led to believe that their legal rights depend on personal characteristics such as sexual orientation and so on.
Equity, diversity and inclusion ideology emphasizes division rather than our common humanity. It necessarily leads to conflict and competition. It promotes the idea that we must belong to a victim class or an oppressor class. The emphasis is not on our common humanity. In the EDI ideology, the ultimate triumph comes when the victim group vanquishes, defeats and crushes the oppressor group. This is not an ideology that goes by.... There's a beautiful slogan you may have seen on bumper stickers that says, “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” The EDI ideology is focused on group rights.
An example of this, quite recently, is the Musqueam agreement, which became public in March. It was signed in secret. It jeopardizes the property rights of over two million people in the greater Vancouver area. It recognizes aboriginal title, which is about not just the right to hunt and fish but also actual ownership of the land. When you take away people's property, threaten to do so or create a scenario where that could happen, it is not the way to get social trust or reconciliation. Everyone in Canada is a settler or the descendant of a settler. I have to ask the question: With section 35 of the Constitution and the royal proclamation, why do we create different legal rights for 95% of the people whose ancestors came from Europe, Asia and Africa in the last 500 years and 5% of the population whose ancestors came here more than 500 years ago?
To increase social confidence, the federal government can take steps to abolish EDI initiatives and race-based laws and policies. For example, abolish the Indian Act, repeal the agreement signed in secret in February with the Musqueam, and view all Canadians as first-class citizens under the principle of equal rights for all and special privileges for none.
I see that I have 20 seconds left. I'll say, briefly, that the government should also respect section 92 of the Constitution Act on division of powers. If the government itself is not respecting the Constitution, it breeds a cynicism that is contrary to civic engagement.
Thank you. I look forward to your questions.