Mr. Speaker, I would like first of all to thank the member for Edmonton—Strathcona and also the member for Dauphin—Swan River for their initiative today and to explain why the Government of Canada will support this motion from the opposition.
Canadian unity is not a partisan issue. We have our disagreements on how this country should be governed, and it is normal in a democracy that there be a liberal approach, a social-democratic approach, a conservative approach and a reform approach, or whatever we choose to call it. What is important, however, is that we all work together for the unity of Canada.
The premiers have proposed principles that can gain the support of all Canadians, and as such can strengthen our unity. The Calgary declaration is not the only part to Canadian unity, but it is an important one to show that Quebeckers, just like Albertans, just like all Canadians, share values and can look forward to the next century with a shared purpose rather than in a spirit of division. That is the objective of this declaration.
It is a wonderful declaration because it shows that in Canada, perhaps more than in any other country, we know that equality is not the same thing as uniformity. Equality is an important value that is being pursued further in Canada than anywhere else, along with diversity, which is also an important value, and this country finds its strength in diversity. Diversity is not at all at issue; it is a strength, and these two values go together.
That diversity covers various features. There is of course the bilingual character of the country; there is the multicultural character of the country, there is the contribution made by aboriginal peoples, and there is the Quebec society, which is in a unique situation in North America, for reasons on which everyone can agree.
What is also new in the Calgary declaration is the fact that it is clearly stated that no special status is being created for anyone. All provinces have equal status. Either they are provinces or they are not. If they are provinces, equality of status always applies, but recognition of the equal status of the provinces should not prevent, in fact it should promote, taking into consideration the particular circumstances of each province, because we have a very diverse country, and circumstances in Alberta are not in many respects the same as those in Nova Scotia.
One province is totally unique by virtue of its majority language, its culture, its civil code, its own institutions, and that province is Quebec. There can be recognition of this province's unique situation without creating a situation of inequality compared to the others, merely by stating that everything to be given to one province, in light of its particular situation, must also be available to the others if they should require it.
Quebeckers are not jealous people. They do not want anything for themselves that others would not be able to have. They simply want assurance that, in this decentralized federation, their identity and their way of being Canadians “à la Québecoise” can be reinforced in the coming century with the assistance of other Canadians.
Other Canadians, Albertans and citizens from other provinces, are not jealous people either. They are not saying that since they do not need it, they do not want Quebeckers to have it. They just said that anything that is available for a province must be available for the provinces because this is equality.
It is in this way that we have reconciled the values of diversity and equality. We must commend all the premiers for having done that and we must support them.
I am very pleased to see how in this House the parties that believe in Canada speak with one voice. We support those principles.
I want to quote a great Canadian, a key Canadian for this very moment in our history coming from the province of the hon. member. “I believe in a Canada where all provinces have equal status, but a Canada that allows Quebec to protect those things that make it such a unique part of our national character. do not think those two principles cancel each other out. The Canada I am describing might be familiar to many because most of us grew up here in the tolerant and diverse nation where we are equal as Canadians no matter where we live, but where the word equality is not used as a blanket to smother diversity.”
I agree with that fully. That is exactly the spirit of the Calgary declaration which was stated last spring, well before the Calgary declaration, by Premier Ralph Klein. So it is not a partisan matter.
We are with premier Klein and with all the premiers, in this initiative which is aimed at enhancing our key values.
As the Leader of the Opposition said recently, Alberta political leaders have chosen to act as big westerners, not little westerners on this issue.
I am very proud to share this country with the hon. member from Alberta. We will fight together to make sure that we will stay fellow citizens. Whatever arguments we may have about social, economic and criminal policies, we will have the pleasure of fighting together in the same country.
We are are having a disagreement right now which is not a fundamental one. It is a disagreement about how to speak to Quebeckers at this very moment. It is not fundamental but it is something we have to discuss. I am happy that this discussion will occur today.
The point of view of the government today is that it is too soon for that. As the member from the Bloc said, it is not so easy to consult with people even in a province where a premier like Premier Klein is strongly supporting the resolution of the Calgary declaration. It is not easy because when people get up in the morning it is not their first preoccupation to listen to a debate about this declaration.
It does not mean that people do not support it. In fact, if they were strongly against it the likelihood that they would rush to these kinds of consultations would be greater. However, I think they support the principles.
I know that polls are polls, but what is interesting are the polls that are compared with the ones we had in Charlottetown or Meech. When we go into the details of the declaration, the support is even greater for the declaration in Quebec.
When Quebeckers are asked “Do you support the Calgary declaration?”, the support is there, but not strong support. When they are asked “Do you support citizen equality?”, there is very strong support. When they are asked “Do you support the equality of status of the provinces?”, there is strong support. And when they are asked “Do you support the recognition of Quebec's unique character?”, there is very strong support.
In other words, the more detail there is given on the declaration, the more people support it, and this is grounds for considerable optimism, even if the process of consultation in those provinces whose premiers support the process is not as easy as some would believe. People are not rushing to share their points of view, but there are still grounds for considerable optimism.
Where are we headed with all this? It is desirable for the premiers of the nine provinces and the territorial leaders who believe in a powerful united Canada, coming out of these consultations, to be able to find sufficient public support to enable them to submit to their respective parliaments a statement of principle, which will no doubt be fairly close to the Calgary declaration and will show the extent to which Canadians do, in fact, share the same values. This will lead to declarations by the legislatures.
It will not be a constitutional act. We are not speaking about the Constitution now. It is a declaration of principles that shows that yes, we share values. If one day we are ready, especially if there is a premier in Quebec who believes in Canada, we will see if there is still support among the people for something that would be a more legal document that we may consider putting in the Constitution.
The approach that we have with the support of the Leader of the Opposition and all the leaders in the House who believe in Canada and who support the step by step approach is something great and I am very proud to do it with all my colleagues in the House who believe in Canada.