Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Secretary of State for the Francophonie really got his foot in it when he said that the values of democracy, human rights and good governance were Canadian values that did not seem to be part of the Haitian vocabulary.
I would like to remind the Secretary of State that Haitians were among the first emancipated people on this continent. In the 18th century, the Haitians abolished slavery, while in Canada in the following century, we hanged Louis Riel.
While Canada was still just a colony, Haiti was already a republic. The Haitian people are as passionate about democracy and human rights as Canadians are.
Each and every day, Haitians battle relentlessly to achieve their goals, which are no less noble for coming up against such arrogant attitudes.
The Bloc Quebecois feels that Haitians have nothing to learn from the Liberal Government of Canada, whose vocabulary abounds in smugness.