Madam Speaker, I will gladly answer the question because some members may wonder how to define a Montagnais, a Malecite or a Nisga'a.
Allow me to answer by first asking a question and answering it. How do you define a Canadian? As far as I can understand, Canadians are persons who live in Canada and call themselves Canadians. Our hon. colleague told us: "I am a Canadian. I have been living in Canada since the late 50s". He said he came to Canada from Hungary after the insurrection over there.
I am sure the hon. member calls himself a Canadian, probably in his Hungarian or Magyar mother tongue, and never doubts for a moment that he is a Canadian.
Similarly, Quebecers are people living in Quebec who call themselves Quebecers. These people's ancestors may have been established in Quebec since 1636, or for 360 years, like mine, or for just two, three, four or five years. Perhaps their mother tongue is Greek or Spanish. Perhaps they are like my hon. colleague from Bourassa, originally from Chile, who calls himself a Quebecer.
Therefore, a Quebecer is someone who lives in Quebec, claims to be a Quebecer and recognizes that he or she and the other people living in Quebec share the same identity as Quebecers. Of course, this identity is coloured. The Prime Minister himself mentioned in his distinct society proposal that it should be recognized that, in Quebec, we have a French speaking majority and a unique culture, although the Prime Minister told us yesterday that there was no Quebec culture. At any rate, such are the vagaries of politics.
We have our own civil law tradition inherited from old France. Of course, the people of Quebec have a colour, as do the people of Canada. From what I can see, the predominant language among Canadians is English. There is a Canadian culture defending itself against the American culture, and Canada also has its social and legal institutions.
In short, a Quebecer is someone living in Quebec who claims to be a Quebecer, like a Montagnais from the Lac-Saint-Jean region, who speaks the same language as me and looks somewhat like me, come to think of it. It is someone who says: "I am a Montagnais from Lac-Saint-Jean, living in Mashteuiatsh, attending school in
Roberval, working at the Canada Employment Center in Roberval and proud to call myself a Montagnais".
A Montagnais is someone who claims to be a Montagnais and is recognized as such by other Montagnais, the same way that a Quebecer is someone who claims to be a Quebecer and agrees to belong to this nation, without any distinction based on culture, race or language. Quebec gladly welcomes everyone, as long as you call yourself a Quebecer.