Harper was not even close.
Mr. Speaker, there are many examples I could give on Stephen Harper. The one that comes to my mind right away, because I always advocated for it, is the CPP. In order to enhance people's pensions, we needed to work with the provinces and get an agreement. It was never achieved back then. There are many different examples.
I have been a parliamentarian for over 30 years at the provincial and federal levels. I cannot recall ever seeing a prime minister and stakeholders, along with our premiers, provinces, territories and indigenous leaders, work as a team Canada in trying to deal with the issue of sovereignty.
That takes many forms. As we saw not that long ago, the Prime Minister was talking with the president. It looked like there was the possibility of an agreement, but we were not prepared to bend in regard to some of the things that were coming out, including the issue of French on labels, I believe, but do no quote me on that. There was an important issue there, along with a few others, that ultimately stopped the negotiations from being able to continue.
No matter how long it takes, we are here to work at achieving an agreement, but that agreement has to be achieved in the best interests of Canadians as a whole. That means if it is going to take a while, we will wait a while. While we are waiting, there are actions we can take, and protecting our culture is one of those actions. That is one of the reasons we have seen the types of investments we have had in culture. It is because we recognize that this is part of who we are as a nation.
There are so many things we can be very proud of in the different regions. My family ancestry goes back to the province of Quebec. I am a nationalist first and foremost. I believe in Canada as a nation first. That means that I love my city and I love my province, but I love the province of Quebec too. Quebec and Alberta are both worth standing up for.
When we think of our culture, I want the distinct, unique culture that comes from the province of Quebec not only to be there, but to grow. I believe the Prime Minister and every member of the Liberal caucus wants to see that happen too. We understand the issue of culture. We understand the impact that global streaming services are having. We have and we will come up with a detailed plan because we also believe that global streaming services must contribute. It is not an option to our cultural sector. It is not a question of “if”. It is about “how”, and we will make it happen.