Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today to private members Motion No. 26. It is important to recognize that the province of Quebec occupies a unique place in Canada and that all Canadians should reach out, whether they be Quebeckers or other Canadians, to preserve our wonderful country.
When we line up all the reasons for keeping our country united, we can manage without difficulty to celebrate and recognize Quebec, the only majority French speaking society in North America, as a fundamental characteristic in Canada. We can manage to say as did the Manitoba constitutional task force in 1991:
It is time to reach out formally to the people of Quebec and recognize in the Constitution their special identity which has contributed so significantly to the building of Canada.
Talk Constitution, why not? All democracies make constitutional changes from time to time. Usually they do so by proceeding one step at a time, one issue at a time.
It is obvious that Canada deserves to survive and can be improved even without constitutional change. It is just as obvious that Quebec has everything to gain by staying in a united Canada, whether or not the Constitution is amended. Federal Liberals have reiterated that truth unceasingly in Quebec and right across Canada. At the same time a better affirmed recognition of Quebec in our Constitution would be a good thing in and of itself, a remarkable expression of Canadian values.
Let us do a little what if experiment together. What if the people of Saskatchewan were in the situation that Quebeckers are in today? What if they lived in the only anglophone province surrounded by nine francophone provinces in Canada and French was the language of the United States, the international language of economics, finance, science, the Internet, movies, the latest pop music, and the language of immigrants from Asia or elsewhere? Why then would they not ask their fellow citizens in the other provinces to recognize this special situation they have found themselves in? We might not call it distinct society but then again we just might.
This desire to affirm cultural and regional identities is seen around the world. At the end of this century, as populations mix together, as identities become uncertain and as the number of languages is decreasing rather than increasing for the first time in the history of humanity, people are affirming their language, their culture and their identity.
The vast majority of Quebeckers feel Canadian and want to stay Canadian. They are as proud to be Quebeckers as British Columbians are proud of their province and Nova Scotians are proud of theirs.
I am proud to come from Ontario.
We need to find a way to express the obvious link between constitutional recognition of Quebec and the great Canadian value of respect for diversity. We could easily harmonize that recognition with our ideal of the equality of citizens which the Canadian charter legally entrenches. We can harmonize it easily with the equality of status of the provinces.
Equality of status must not be confused with uniform treatment. As members of the House can easily understand an example, parents love their children equally and give them the same attention, but they treat each child according to his or individual needs.
It is the ability to combine equality and diversity that has so contributed to the country's success and reputation in the world. It is precisely in that perspective that we should recognize the place of our only majority francophone province within Canada.
In so doing, we would for all practical purposes merely be formalizing a principle already admitted by our courts, a principle that leads them to take account of the context of each province in order to make just decisions, including the specific context of Quebec.
It is the eminent Saskatchewanian, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Dickson, who said:
As a practical matter entrenching formal recognition of Quebec's distinctive character in the Constitution would not involve a significant departure from the existing practice of our courts.
We cannot actually amend our Constitution to express the character of Canada and the unique place of Quebec so long as a secessionist government is in office in Quebec, but we can seek the way to express what we all believe.
When the premiers of the nine provinces and the territorial leaders next meet, I hope they will continue down that road started in St. Andrews and continued in Calgary.
Yes, we are ready to engage in a positive way to secure the future of Canada. Yes, our Canada will include Quebec for ourselves and for future generations, an authentic Quebec that is part of Canada, that is part of all of us.
As the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs has demonstrated time and again, if it is explained that we can reconcile the diversity of Canada including Quebec's uniqueness with the principles of equality of citizens and the equal status of provinces, support for recognizing Quebec is even higher.
Let us look at the popular support for the principles of the Calgary declaration. An Angus Reid poll shows that 73% of Canadians, including no less than 70% of British Columbians, think the premiers national unity initiative is a positive step in the right direction.
A new Environics poll shows that around 70% of Canadians, including interestingly enough 68% of British Columbians and 68% of Quebeckers, support recognizing the unique character of Quebec in the Constitution as long as any advantage this may give to Quebec is made available to the other provinces.
Because Canadians judge that the principle of equality and diversity is good in and of itself they support the Calgary declaration. It is in this spirit that I urge citizens to participate in the consultation process that the provincial premiers have launched to discuss the Calgary declaration.
This is an initiative that will help keep Canada together so that as Quebeckers, as British Columbians and as Ontarian residents we can all continue to share in this marvellous country.
I hope I have demonstrated that the recognition of the specificity of Quebec does not imply a special status for that province and that it is in the interest of all Canadians that this show of good will be realized.
Further, I remind all hon. members that Canada is currently undergoing an intense period of social and political change. We have not become a tolerant country by accident. Our country has an enviable reputation in that regard because since the beginning of our history anglophones and francophones have been called on to journey together.
That spirit of openness has allowed Canadians to welcome to our country new citizens from all corners of the international community, including my family. Our diversity is a strength and a defining characteristic of our country. We all know that Canada is a remarkable human success. We all must work hard each and every day to keep it united. Every one of us can play a role in that regard.