Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak today on the Main Estimates, within this debate on supply.
As we know, the President of Treasury Board intends to allocate $194 million to the Department of Justice for the coming fiscal year.
I have examined the estimates presented by the President of Treasury Board with great interest and great care. I have just recently discussed them with a few of my colleagues, including the hon. members for Châteaugay, Frontenac—Mégantic, Rosemont and Champlain. Unfortunately, the hon. member for Hochelaga—Maisonneuve was unable to join in our discussion on this vital issue.
Looking at the government's proposal with great interest and great care, one can see that this $194 million budget allocation to the Department of Justice shows just how much this government lives from day to day, without any road map or compass, and practically without giving its actions any thought.
They move from one slapdash policy to another without an overall plan, and this is unfortunate.
I could give numerous examples to illustrate this, the first being of course the reference to the Supreme Court. As we know, in 1980 the Government of Quebec and all the people of Quebec voted on a rather specific question concerning sovereignty-association. The federal government of the day, led by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, accepted the rules for consultation of the people of Quebec. They said at the time that it was democratic and that it was accepted. Trudeau's participation implicitly validated the referendum process in Quebec.
Although at that time the question also concerned Quebec sovereignty, another consultation was held after 1992, again in accordance with the Quebec referendum legislation. Again the federal government took part, at Charlottetown, and validated the Quebec referendum act.
In 1995 there was a referendum campaign. The debate was fierce, fair, and intense, but it was always serene. This is the great quality that Quebeckers have. They had a calm and peaceful debate on the future of a country to be, Quebec, and therefore of an existing one, Canada, which shows that the Quebec society is a perfect model of democracy.
Of course, the federal government took part in the process. The then Prime Minister, who is still the Prime Minister—although I do not know for how much longer—also got involved by organizing rallies and appearing on television to discuss the impact of sovereignty. The result of the vote was so close that neither side can really claim victory.
In light of this, the federal government said “Since I almost lost, I will change the rules of the game. I will deny Quebeckers the right to decide their own future, as they did in 1980, 1992 and 1995”. What did the government do to achieve this? It asked the supreme court to rule on the issue.
This is like having a problem with the fence between our property and that of our neighbour and telling him “Listen, we have a problem with the fence. I will ask my best friend, whom I will pay, to make a decision”. This is what is happening with the supreme court. The judges are appointed by the federal government. They are paid by the federal government. Not only that, but they are interpreting a document, the Constitution of Canada, which was never recognized by any Quebec government, whether federalist or sovereignist. So, the decision is removed from the hands of the people of Quebec and handed over to an unelected authority, the supreme court.
It is sad to see that this unilateral action by the federal government takes us back 150 years. Back then, in the 1830s, the elected assembly, the people's democratic representatives, wanted to wrest power from an oligarchy appointed by the Imperial government in London. It was this debate that led to the rebellion and that later, much later, led to responsible government.
By going back 150 years, this government is deciding to take away Quebeckers' right to decide on their own future and giving it to nine individuals it has appointed, who are interpreting a document it produced without Quebec's consent.
As the current Minister of Justice herself has said, this reference will bring absolutely nothing new to the debate from a constitutional point of view. We can even tell you what the court's ruling will be. It is a complete waste of taxpayers' money, all for the purpose of hijacking democracy in Quebec.
I will give another example of how little the government—