Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois to join in a debate which is the prelude to the political mobilization of Quebeckers in support of the consensus re-emerging in Quebec which, as stated in the motion moved today in the House by our party, holds that it is for Quebeckers, and Quebeckers alone, to freely decide their own future.
Contrary to what the Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs is saying, the Government of Canada has put three questions to the supreme court dealing with the future of Quebec and phrased them in such a way that it has shocked and troubled the chair of the UN International Law Commission, Alain Pellet, and I quote “on account of the partisan manner in which they are asked”, not because it wants to clarify the rule of law and become its champion.
No, this is a political move. So political in fact that it might jeopardize the credibility of this same court held hostage by the law, according to the prominent lawyer Jacques-Yvan Morin. This strategy is aimed mainly at discouraging Quebeckers from opting for sovereignty when the time comes because it would be illegal.
However in Quebec nobody, not only federalist allies, such as Daniel Johnson and Claude Ryan, is being fooled by such shifty tactics, such trickery, which, as Hannah Arendt put it, “never conflict with reason, because things could have happened just the way the liar claimed they happened”.
This strategy is probably also aimed at influencing the international community, which Canada will ask to oppose any action the supreme court might have ruled illegal. However, the international community is not and will not be fooled by this none too subtle federal stratagem. One day it will recognize the will of the Quebec to have its own country and to become a full-fledged member of the international community.
The international community will recognize a sovereign Quebec, a Quebec that will reassert, as it has stated for decades, its intention to abide by the Charter of the United Nations and the other international instruments ratified by Canada, guarantee the English speaking community and the native people the rights they need to develop within a sovereign Quebec, as well as respect all relevant commitments to ensure the stability of the continent and the whole world.
The Bloc Quebecois has been trying and keeps trying to expose this legal tactic that undermines democracy in Canada and it will intensify its discussions with foreign representatives, here in Ottawa and abroad, to politely and patiently explain to them why Quebeckers will soon opt for sovereignty, why Quebeckers no longer want to deal with the Canadian impasse and why they want a state where people speak French and enjoy a Quebec culture.
When the time comes to decide its own future, Quebec will have legitimacy on its side, as always. Canada, or at least the part being represented by the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and his entourage, believes that it has the law on its side. The minister argues that the rule of law is crucial, but allow me to digress here for a minute.
To be so crucial, it would have to be understood. Last week, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs showed us that he does not understand anything about international law. When he was talking about unilateral decisions made by Canada, he said things that exposed and brought to light his lack of knowledge in this area, which we will continue to decry.
The law is not crucial. Democracy is, the will of the people is crucial, and that is what the Canadian government is about to learn at its own expense. There is today a large consensus which the international community will take note of, a large consensus that it is for Quebeckers to decide, and Quebeckers will soon have another opportunity to decide their own future.