Madam Speaker, I do not know where to begin tonight. What we heard yesterday was truly shocking, and shook me to my core. We have in front of us a crisis.
Every government has scandals. Every government has issues and mistakes it has to deal with. That is true of the previous government. It is also true of the current government. However, what we have in front of us today is a constitutional crisis that strikes at the very heart of our institutions and the principles on which they are based. It is a crisis about the division of powers in the country; the long held and sacred principles on which these divisions of powers are based; the division of power between the judicial and executive branches of government; and the principles that are enshrined in our Constitution, written and unwritten. They are enshrined in our statutes, like the justice act, and other acts of Parliament.
It is also a crisis about the rule of law, a foundational principle on which the country is based. In fact, it is so foundational that when we repatriated the Constitution in 1982 and when we adopted the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that part of the Constitution led with the words that Canada was founded on the principles of a belief in the supremacy of God and the rule of law. If we do not consider this as a House of Commons, as committees of the House, as institutions of state, to be a crisis, then we have an even bigger problem: institutions that are incapable of regulating power and regulating abuses of power.
What we heard yesterday at the justice committee was truly shocking, and shook me to my core. We heard casual and flip comments that certain laws were not as important because they were passed under a previous government. We heard casual comments that we should not concern ourselves about the legalities of a situation. We heard comments that we were not going to relent and let up on the interference.
It was clear through yesterday's testimony in front of the justice committee that there was a prolonged and sustained campaign to convince the most senior law officer of Canada, the attorney general, to change her mind in respect to a decision she had already taken, to put pressure on her in a sustained and prolonged fashion to change her mind and to interfere in a criminal prosecution.
This is so shocking it is hard to know where to begin. Our country is founded on these divisions of powers, and not just Canada. All western democracies, for a very long time, have been founded on the concept that we have three branches of the state, executive, legislative and judicial, and that these three branches are independent of each other and should hold each other in check and balance. What we saw yesterday was a complete violation of that fundamental principle in a way that was so casual and so flip that it shook me to my core.
What we also saw yesterday was a government that did not even seem to understand the principle of the rule of law, the idea that every person in our country is to be treated equally under the law and is to be afforded the same rights under the law.
I would like to say a few words in French to my francophone constituents.
Today's debate is about fundamental constitutional principles, such as the rule of law and the independence of our justice system. These principles are more important than any company or individual. They are fundamental. They are so important that they are enshrined in our Constitution, written and unwritten. In fact, part 1 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms begins with the following words:
...Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law...
Our Constitution also protects the language rights of francophones across Canada. That is why we need to fight to ensure that the law and the independence of our justice system are respected and to meet our obligations to francophones across the country, both in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. If we dilute the rule of law and the independence of our justice system, we are also threatening the other rights set out in the Canadian Constitution, rights that protect minorities and francophones across Canada.
That is why I am so shook to my core. What we heard yesterday is going to take some time to digest, but I know one thing beyond a shadow of a doubt. I have no confidence in the Prime Minister or the government.
My hope is that the institutions of our state, both judicial and legislative, can get to the bottom of this matter and hold people accountable for these abuses of power. Our institutions of state must be able to do that. They must be able to hold the Prime Minister accountable for what we heard yesterday. In our recognized parties of the chamber, in our committees of the chamber, on the floor of the chamber, he must be held accountable.
Our independent judicial system must also do its work. Otherwise I worry about the institutions that we will pass on to our children and grandchildren.
I implore all members of the House to work hard to ensure we uphold these fundamental constitutional principles about the divisions of power between the executive and legislative branches of government, that we uphold the principle of the rule of law, that we do our work here in the chamber and in its committees and that we hold the government accountable for its actions and not let it get away with these abuses of power. Otherwise, I truly fear for the institutions that we will pass on to our children and our grandchildren.