Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to take part in the debate on the opposition motion on Bill C-20 put forward by the Bloc Quebecois.
Some may think the Bloc Quebecois is exaggerating or wants to set a precedent by asking the government that the legislative committee on Bill C-20 be allowed to travel across Quebec and Canada. But there are three fundamental reasons for the Bloc Quebecois' request.
First, it is common practice for the House of Commons to have committees travel. Since 1994, parliamentary committees have travelled throughout Canada and abroad on more than 60 occasions. A few examples will prove to those listening that the government does not stint on money and resources when it is not worried about consulting the public.
The Standing Committee on National Defence and Veterans Affairs travelled to Germany in January of 1999.
The Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights travelled to the eastern provinces in March of 1999.
The Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade travelled to Quebec City, St-Hyacinthe, Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver in March and April of 1999.
The Standing Committee on Natural Resources and Government Operations travelled to British Columbia in May of 1999.
Before signing the Nisga'a treaty, the Liberal government had the committee responsible for examining this treaty travel to British Columbia to hear from citizens there who wished to voice their concerns about the treaty.
Finally, as we speak, the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans is now travelling in British Columbia and in the State of Washington.
The second reason is that all the opposition parties, which represent 62% of voters, have asked that the committee be allowed to travel. The Reform member for Macleod has accused the Liberals of not respecting Canadians or democracy. The NDP leader and member for Winnipeg—Transcona said the following, and I quote: “The government has acted not expeditiously but with arrogance. It is showing its disdain for the rules and traditions of the House on matters of such importance. This bill deserves more attention and different treatment”.
These are not the words of a Bloc Quebecois member or a sovereignist, far from it.
In addition to the opposition parties, a large number of groups of Canadians and Quebecers, a large number of individuals, have called for the committee to travel in order to make it easier for the witnesses to take part. Who are these groups that are deploring the government's tactics for looking at Bill C-20?
Let us see what the spokespersons for some of them think about the government's steamroller tactics. Let us see what they think, which is probably what is stopping the Liberal government from letting the committee travel, for fear of hearing the truth about Bill C-20.
Marc Laviolette, president of the CSN, said “Basically, the Prime Minister ought quite simply to pass legislation stating that Quebec is not entitled to secede. Period. That would be the end of it, and it would be clear. But instead he has decided to play at being democratic.”
Henri Massé, the general secretary of the FTQ said “There are all the makings of a good debate in Quebec, and this has been the case since the 1970s. The debate is being conducted in a civilized fashion, the forces present are quite responsible and need no outside help”.
Monique Richard, the president of the CEQ, also had this to say “This bill flies in the face of the most basic rules of democracy and our parliamentary system. What entitles the Prime Minister and his Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs to come blindly marching into this debate and tell us what to do and how to do it?”
Daniel Baril of the FEUQ calls for the withdrawal of the bill in the following terms “Mr. Prime Minister, we demand the withdrawal, pure and simple, of your bill and we ask you to come back down to earth with us”.
Geneviève Baril puts it as follows “If the Prime Minister wants to give lessons on democracy, let him go back to school and do his homework”.
The Montreal Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society says “We will never allow Ottawa to eliminate the right of the people of Quebec to freely decide its future. Canada will lose a few feathers in Quebec, but it will lose more internationally. No one on this earth will ever again listen to a country that promotes rights and freedoms but fails to honour them itself. Canada is violating its international commitments and is turning into a prison of nations. It is time the Prime Minister get out of his village and realize that he is taking an action that is an embarrassment to the whole international community”.
As for François Saillant, of the Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain, the FRAPRU, he said “The federal government is tarnishing the image of the Canadian people on the international scene by denying the people of Quebec a right as fundamental as the right to self-determination. This is totally unacceptable on the part of a government that has been boasting for years that we are the best country in the world. The Canadian government is once again showing its hypocrisy when it comes to the respect of fundamental rights”.
Jean-Yves Desgagnés, of the Front commun des personnes assistées sociales du Québec, points out the following “The federal bill is an attempt unprecedented in Canadian history to impose on the people of Quebec a legal yoke to prevent it from being the master of its own destiny. Twice, in the 1980 and 1985 referendums, Quebecers were asked to decide on their future. That process was conducted under rules determined by the Quebec national assembly and no one in Quebec, whether on the federalist or the sovereignist side, challenged the legitimacy and democratic nature of these two consultations. Why question the political maturity of that people and its ability to discuss its future in serenity and in the respect of the various views expressed?”
Mrs. Claude Majeau, of the Fédération des locataires d'habitation à loyer modique du Québec, had this to say “The federal referendum bill is a tactic which may divert the attention of Canadians and Quebecers from a very important issue: the use of the federal government's budgetary surpluses”.
All the parties in the national assembly and a great many community groups in Quebec and in Canada are begging the federal government to withdraw Bill C-20. This shows that there is a strong consensus in Quebec.
The government is too afraid of being democratic. It knows that its bill undermines the basic principles of democracy. It knows it will have to withdraw it. So it goes underground. It works behind the scenes, hoping that the legislative committee will make as few waves as possible.
There is an old saw about still waters running deep, but we should also heed what appears on the arch over the door to the opposition lobby. It says in part: “A time will come, which is not yet, when I'll bite him by whom I'm bit.”