He tells me that it was 1975.
This was not adopted by nasty sovereignists, but by the national assembly, under the government of Robert Bourassa, a Liberal. The Liberals opposite should remember that this was done by a former Liberal Premier of Quebec. This part of history has to be remembered. We have this charter of human rights, which suits all Quebecers, but it goes farther than the Canadian charter, which is limited to individual rights. The Quebec's charter deals with other aspects of collective life.
I think that we will never ask ourselves this question enough: are we sure, as parliamentarians, in our conscience, and it is worth asking this of ourselves, that it is a good idea to put so much power in the hands of a minister who would have 45 days to get the cabinet approval?
We just changed minister. The new minister's lack of experience in the area of defence is a source of concern for many. We will see. Let us give him a chance to prove himself.
The previous Minister of National Defence took a week to inform the Prime Minister that Canadian troops had taken prisoners in Afghanistan. They did not know what to do. There was this whole saga about respecting human rights and international conventions, such as the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
But we are not talking about prisoners' rights. I know that some are saying that these prisoners got what they deserved. We are talking about respecting everyone's rights. This is a very complex issue. We should take the time to listen to the opinions of those concerned.
Human rights come into play, but the main issue is the excessive discretionary power given to the Minister of National Defence to designate future military zones. The minister will be able to make this decision on his own, without the authorization of the provinces, without even asking them.
I remember 1970. Having been born in 1947, I remember 1970 very clearly. There was the War Measures Act in Quebec. Under this legislation, several hundred people were arrested and put in jail without even being told why. We all know such people. They were released several days later, sometimes as many as 30, without knowing why they had been arrested. The government panicked.
Here, we are talking about zones. I do not think that it is the government's intention to repeat the unfortunate experience of 1970. The legislation now being proposed concerns millions of people. In theory, all Canadians and Quebecers could be subjected to this legislation. This was done because an incident could occur anywhere. The minister can decide to create a military zone and it would no longer be subject to any statute or regulation. He would become the dictator of the day.
I am mentioning this because of what the Prime Minister told us a few months ago. He said “You know, there are days when I feel like a democrat and others when I feel like a dictator”. Since he is the one who chose the new Minister of National Defence, I hope that the latter will not follow this advice.
If the new Minister of National Defence feels like a democrat one day, I be will reassured. But if he feels like a dictator the next day, I will be worried; not just I, but everyone, might be worried. It does not make sense to leave something this delicate, this important, to the judgment of one person, when we do not yet know how he approaches things. I am not attacking him, because he is just starting out, but I am thinking of anyone who could one day become Minister of National Defence, including myself.
Can any one person claim to possess all the knowledge, all the information required to take such a delicate and important decision? No.
Through you, Mr. Speaker, I invite other members to give some careful thought to where they stand on this matter, given its importance.