Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good evening, colleagues.
You won't be surprised by our amendment, which enhances the bill while respecting the jurisdictions of Quebec and the provinces. In fact, the preamble to the bill reminds us that health and education fall under provincial jurisdiction, even though the debate surrounding this bill focuses on a national framework.
No one wants children to go to school hungry, to use the words being used to promote the bill. It's an important principle, and that's why Quebec has a school nutrition program.
I'm surprised that I'm the one who has to do this, but, to show that this subject falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces, I'm going to quote from the Constitution of Canada. It's not my daily bedside book, but it's clear on the responsibilities of each level of government. It states in section 93 that “In and for each province the legislature may exclusively make laws in relation to education…”.
Once again, in this bill, we have the wrong sphere of jurisdiction. That's why our amendment aims to add the following new article:
3.1 In recognition of the provincial jurisdiction with regard to health and education, the government of a province may choose to be exempted from any obligation that may arise out of the implementation of the national framework.
In other words, given that this is not an area of federal jurisdiction, it must be made very clear that the provinces will be able to opt out of any obligations that may arise from the implementation of this national framework. For us, it's fundamental to make this amendment to the national framework bill, otherwise the Bloc Québécois won't be able to support it.