Mr. Speaker, Quebec is celebrating its seventh public library week until October 22.
A magical kingdom where our imaginations run wild, where mythic tales and brilliant ideas abound, where the men and women who have invented humanity live on thousands of pages, public libraries are more than places providing books and knowledge; they are places for sharing ideas and making discoveries, opening a window into arts and culture, and a window on the world.
The Bloc Québécois invites Quebeckers to visit our libraries this week and discover the talented writers born from the diversity within Quebec and elsewhere. This is an excellent opportunity to once again ask the federal government, which cares little about creators, to increase the Canada Council's budget to $300 million, abolish the GST on books, give creators a tax exemption on public lending rights and royalties, as Quebec has already done.
I say to all Quebeckers, happy public library week and happy reading.