Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the hon. member for Longueuil, for allowing me to clarify my thought. I will use an example I saw in the newspapers the morning after the speech from the throne. Here is how a paper that will remain nameless, Le Devoir , interpreted that paragraph. The author used education as an example of exclusive jurisdiction.
The situation can lead to misunderstandings. If a majority of provinces, six provinces for example, decided that the federal government could administer a national program in education, Quebec could protest all it wants, it would have to establish an equivalent program meeting the national standards imposed by Ottawa to get part of the funds under that program, to get back part of the taxes that Quebecers pay to the federal government. For us, Quebecers, that would be unacceptable. If there is one area that is vital for Quebec, it is education.
According to what the speech from the throne says about exclusive jurisdictions, the federal government could interfere in an area like education and that is truly unacceptable for Quebec.
The federal government has no right putting its nose in areas of exclusive provincial jurisdiction. It should stay clear of such exclusive jurisdictions. That is totally unacceptable for us, in Quebec.