Mr. Speaker, I am sure you will understand that before I say anything else in this House, I want to thank the voters of Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert.
The Speech from the Throne made it clear that the Conservative government did not understand the message Quebeckers were trying to send. Seventy-eight per cent of Quebeckers did not vote for the Conservative Party, and there is a reason for that. They did not like this government's positions, and they did not want what it had to offer. They did not like what the government planned to do with young offenders, and they really did not like the idea of cuts to culture. In Quebec, there was an outcry against such cuts. Clearly, the government did not get it, because the Speech from the Throne had nothing to say about bringing back that funding. Yet culture is hugely important in Quebec. We not only love and respect our artists, but we also consume a lot of what they produce. Why? Because we are a nation, and our artists represent Quebec culture. We are very proud of them. Yet there was nothing at all in the Speech from the Throne for artists and the arts.
I had the opportunity, if not the pleasure, to attend the Conservative Party convention last Thursday, where I heard the Prime Minister give a speech about his election campaign to his supporters. He did not say that he understood what Quebeckers wanted, nor did he acknowledge that they were not happy with what he had to offer them. He did not suggest that the government should therefore be more conciliatory and offer something else to Quebeckers, or that it should change, or that it should reach out to them and listen carefully to what they have to say. He said nothing of the kind. He said that, basically, Quebeckers did not understand the Conservative Party, that the party was going to find some other way to get its message across, and that it was going to repeat that message as many times as necessary to convince Quebeckers that it was right.
Given the current economic context, it is understandable that the government would deliver a throne speech focused on the economy. That makes sense, and the Bloc, too, wants to act on the issue without delay. However, this raises the following question: why would the government indicate, in its throne speech, that it wants to hurt a thriving economic sector—the cultural industry—all the while seeking to create programs that will help industry in general?