Mr. Speaker, 265 members of Parliament, including the man who is now the Liberal leader, rose in this House on November 27, 2006 in formal recognition of the Quebec nation. Nothing at all has come of it since.
Last week, Liberals and Conservatives alike opposed the Bloc Québécois bill to apply the Charter of the French language to all businesses everywhere in Quebec, including banks, ports and airports. Not only was the Liberal leader absent during that fateful vote, but he has gone one step further from abstention to a slap in the face. On June 5, the office of the Leader of the Opposition sent an English-only reply to a person in my riding, despite the fact that the incoming letter was in French.
This is a perfect illustration of the who-cares attitude of the federal Liberals and their new leader toward the Quebec nation and the language of its people. May we soon celebrate a free and francophone Quebec.