Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member for his very thoughtful remarks. Although he was not a member of the committee it seems he has paid very close attention to the evidence presented to it.
Could the hon. member comment on the argument that predicates this application to extinguish subsections 1 through 4 of section 93. That argument is that in order to establish linguistic school boards in Quebec, in order to modernize the Quebec school system so that it more clearly reflects the pluralistic nature of Quebec society, it is necessary to repeal the application of section 93 to Quebec. The hon. member addressed this in his speech.
On further reflection I will quote from the judgment rendered by the Supreme Court of Canada in 1993 on the reference regarding the Quebec education act to further elucidate the point he made. In that judgment the learned justices said that what section 93 guarantees is the right to dissent per se, not the right to certain legal institutions through which it may be exercised, i.e. school boards.
They furthermore say that there is thus no objection to the principle of redistributing the patrimony of the existing school boards for Protestants and Catholics among the linguistic boards provided the new institutions and their establishment maintain the right to dissent and to denominational schools.
Finally they go on to say at page 39 of their judgment that the framers of the constitution were wise enough not to determine finally the form of institutions as it is those very institutions which must be capable of change in order to adapt to the varying social and economic conditions of society.
In other words, our highest court said that we do not have to maintain denominational school boards in order to establish linguistic school boards. We do not have to eliminate section 93 to establish linguistic school boards. We do not have to abolish these confessional rights in order to do what the Quebec government chooses to do.
Could the hon. member comment on this decision which was rendered at the request of the Quebec government. Does it support his contention that it can make the administrative changes it hopes to without extinguishing the confessional rights guaranteed in the constitution?