Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the member for Marc-Aurèle-Fortin.
How do I start to put all my comments within 10 minutes? Maybe it is to say that I love my city, Winnipeg. It is a beautiful city, and I am very proud of it. However, I am first and foremost a Canadian. I am a very strong nationalist, someone who believes in our Confederation, and someone who believes in the true value of what Canada, as a nation, has to offer the world.
There have been other important times in our history besides the October crisis. Not long ago I stood up and asked for unanimous consent in regard to the 1919 general strike, which was a very significant event in Canada. My own personal heritage is rooted in the province of Quebec. I have made reference to this in the past, and I hope to get back to that momentarily.
I want to portray my understanding of the October crisis, and it was a somewhat limited understanding. I would have been eight years old at the time, but it did make national news. During the two or three years that followed, in elementary and even in secondary school, it was still a very hot topic. I can only imagine what it was like for the individuals, such as the Liberal caucus chair, who spoke about his situation earlier, who were walking the streets and living in the community.
We have to put things into the proper context. I ask members to imagine hundreds of bombs going off over a number of years, and being a child or an adult, or having a child, and living in the city of Montreal at that time. When that child went out for a walk in the street or to school, their parents had no idea if a bomb could go off. That was happening here in Canada. We cannot forget about that.
We have heard about a politician, the deputy premier, being kidnapped while he was out with his child. He never saw his child again as he was then killed. That is a part of the story. That is part of our history.
Let us talk about the diplomat Mr. Cross being kidnapped. Can members imagine the psychological impact that had on him, his family and friends? Not to mention the impact of what was taking place in that environment on the overall population. It caused a great deal of concern.
We had the mayor of Montreal telling the federal government it needed its help, which tells me that at the time the citizens of Montreal had a great deal of concern. We had the premier of the province appealing to Ottawa and asking for help. To me, that emphasizes the importance of the issue. What is being missed by the Bloc today, is that it is not putting everything into the proper perspective. If we want to reflect on our history, then we need to make sure to cover different aspects of it.
I think we could be talking about what is happening today with coronavirus and the people of Quebec and others across Canada. However, I will not take away from the importance of our history and heritage.
I am passionate about this because I love my country. I believe in freedoms. I served in the Canadian Forces because I believe in our country and freedoms. The Bloc is quick to criticize the prime minister who brought in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and who ensured we had bilingualism in Canada.
I talked about my heritage and my family originating from the province of Quebec. My father could speak French. During the forties, fifties and sixties it was not necessarily encouraged to learn French within francophone families. It was Pierre Elliott Trudeau who made sure the French language would be spoken from coast to coast to coast and that Quebec would always remain a francophone province.
However, the Bloc seems to just be interested in being critical of Pierre Elliott Trudeau because he listened to what the province, the premier of Quebec and the mayor of Montreal were saying at the time. Could members imagine if the current Prime Minister were being called upon by the Province of Quebec and the mayor of Montreal, and we did not listen to what they were saying or at least give it some attention? They would be jumping out of their seats, demanding that we listen.
We need to put it into the perspective of what was taking place at that time. At that time, it was not just people in Quebec who were concerned. Canadians from coast to coast to coast were concerned.
If members ever come to Winnipeg they will see a beautiful francophone community. The contributions the people of Quebec have made to the province of Manitoba are immense and immeasurable. There are communities that have roots, just as my family does, back in Saint-Pierre. There are francophone communities, such as Saint-Boniface, doing well in Manitoba today. They are doing well even in the north end of Winnipeg. If it were not for the efforts of Pierre Elliott Trudeau many years prior, we would not have French being spoken to the degree it is being spoken in the province. When people of Filipino or Indian heritage can have a dialogue in French and English, I see that as a positive thing.
We should appreciate the value of our Confederation. There are areas where there is room for improvement and where we have made some mistakes, but let us not turn it into a political issue by trying to put a slant on history that is not necessarily accurate.
The former speaker said the federal government brought it in because it wanted to crush the sovereignty movement. That is just not true. My understanding is that is far from the truth. When the Bloc members say the federal government wanted to silence other people, it is just not true.
I believe members have to try to get a better understanding of what is motivating them to do the things they are doing by bringing forward this motion. They say it is about the victims, and to a certain degree it might be, but I do not believe that is the primary reason. I think it is a bit more mischievous, which is why we hear them bring up Pierre Elliott Trudeau every so often and why they are so quick to blame the national government.
We need to recognize that the purpose of the Bloc is to take Canada apart. That is really what it wants to do. When those members who get elected come to the chamber, good for them, but at the end of the day they represent a percentage of the province of Quebec. Sadly, we have separatists out west as well, and I hope they are not as successful at getting representation here in the House of Commons.
However, I will always respect those individuals who have garnered the support necessary to get into the House. I see my time has expired. I always appreciate the opportunity to address the House.