Maka Kotto

[Satellite Radio, June 17th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the CRTC gave the green light to satellite radio, by granting its first two licences. The decision will perhaps appear in the coming years as one of the most important and reckless ever taken by the CRTC.

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage noted a good two years ago that the Canadian government was inadequately protecting Canada and Quebec's cultural sovereignty and now the CRTC is doing the same thing by imposing very few restrictions.

The Minister of Canadian Heritage has to wake up. Since the Broadcasting Act will have to be amended in order to put the decision into effect, why not take the opportunity to implement the recommendations of the standing committee to strengthen cultural sovereignty?

Although we remain certain that sovereignty for Quebec is the best way to protect Quebec culture and to foster its development, we can assure the minister that we will support any initiative in this regard.

[Arts and Culture, June 10th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, now that the government experts have reached agreement on satisfactory wording for the international convention on the protection of the diversity of cultural content and artistic expression, the next challenge will be to ensure that the greatest possible number of countries adopt it at the next general conference of UNESCO in October 2005.

Can the heritage minister tell us Canada's plans for participation in the international mobilization, an initiative of France, Spain and Brazil,which begins this weekend?

[Education, May 16th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, with its sponsorship program, the federal government tried to buy the heart and soul, as well as the votes, of Quebeckers old enough to vote. Now it is trying the same questionable approach to younger Quebeckers.

Does the federal government intend to put an end to this propaganda which is not intended to educate our children in the least, but rather to shove Canada down their throats?

[Education, May 16th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the federal government has cut funding to post-secondary education and it is distressing to see that it has now gone one step further. Now it is investing thousands of dollars in propaganda measures in our kindergartens, and primary and secondary schools, in short a sponsorship program adapted to children and teenagers.

The government needs to understand one thing: it has no jurisdiction over education. My question is therefore this: what is it waiting for before putting an end to this propaganda, which smacks of being an unacceptable extension of the infamous sponsorship program?

[Democracy, April 13th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, democracy is threatened when people are prepared to lie, betray, scorn, to mislead and humiliate Quebec out of greed, greed for power, material wealth, the pretence of unification and dirty money, and in the name of the leader.

Democracy is threatened when manipulative programs attempt to impose deceitful and mind-numbing presences, sterile unanimity and conspiratorial silences.

Democracy is threatened when fear, nepotism, hypocrisy and corruption, in arrogance, pound on Quebec's door in order to erect monuments to ignorance and partisanship.

The Bloc Québécois believes that human dignity, the one true value, must never be diminished or debased, especially in politics. We are convinced that, in order to interest a substantial number of individuals in our communities to do their civic duty, politics must not only seem clean, it must also be clean through and through.

[Cultural Diversity, March 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, the UNESCO convention must protect culture from the usual trade regulations. That is the purpose of the discussions. The European Union has made what some consider a worthwhile proposal, but Canada has come up with nothing.

Why is the minister not getting her act together and playing the active role that the cultural communities expect of her?

[Cultural Diversity, March 24th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, discussions around the UNESCO convention on cultural diversity are continuing. Discussions will be held on May 23 to determine whether this convention will protect culture against the liberalization of trade, which is being negotiated concurrently at the WTO. Canada has not yet taken a position on this matter.

Can the minister tell us what position the government intends to defend with respect to the legal status of the UNESCO convention and the mechanisms her government deems necessary to ensure its effectiveness?

[Genie Awards, March 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, Quebec has its own unique culture that sets it apart from the rest of North America. Quebec has its own unique creative genius.

Millions of television viewers were given an insight into this uniqueness yesterday during the 25th Genie Awards ceremony. The Genies are awarded to deserving artists and craftspeople in the Canadian film industry.

Many of the talented individuals who today embody Quebec's spirit and uniqueness were among the award recipients last night.

I and my Bloc Québécois colleagues extend our heartiest congratulations and strongly encourage them to persevere in their difference and uniqueness.

[Broadcasting, February 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, quite unexpectedly on the eve of the budget, the minister says she fears there will be cuts in her department. The minister must not have much weight to say such a thing.

Is the Minister of Canadian Heritage in fact not preparing to blame her colleague, the Minister of Finance, to cover up her own inability to deliver the goods?

[Broadcasting, February 22nd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, in the CKAC matter, the minister knows she can intervene with the CRTC. Even though the union has made its intention known, the minister does not have to wait for some kind of formal request before intervening in this case.

Since her inaction would result in more Anglophone newsrooms than Francophone ones in Montreal, what is she waiting for to take up this matter with the CRTC?