Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have an opportunity to address the House today on the motion put forward by the government to recognize Quebec as a distinct society.
I remind members of the most recent referendum in which a majority of Quebecers voted to stay in Canada. With this motion we are trying to make sure we build on that commitment by Quebecers.
With all the rhetoric it is difficult for Canadians to understand what is going on. The Bloc is telling Quebecers there is nothing in this package, that it is a bunch of platitudes, that it means nothing, that we in so-called English Canada really do not want them to stay. The Reform is telling us that we are giving Quebec everything, that we are giving it something that other provinces do not have, and that somehow it will be able to do other things within Canada to get special powers because of the motion.
No wonder Canadians are having a hard time understanding. Quite frankly it is not only rhetoric but lies are being told to Canadians on the issue. It is disturbing, especially given the fact of how important the issue is to Canada and to the future of the country.
The opposition is telling truths but it is only telling half truths. The Bloc says it does not want to talk about the Constitution. Then it says that somehow the motion does not give Quebec any special constitutional power. How can it argue on the one hand that it does not want to talk about the Constitution and on the other hand argue that the motion somehow is not constitutionally significant?
Frankly it is no surprise that Canadians do not want to talk about the Constitution. They want to deal with other issues. They want to deal with jobs. They want to make sure that their families have opportunities for education and proper health care. These are issues of concern to Canadians.
The Prime Minister gave a commitment at the Montreal rally, which I am proud to say a number of my constituents attended, to address some of the concerns of Quebecers. I know the Reform Party blames us for the outcome being so close, and it was. I agree that it was Canadians who came together in that last week, drew the referendum together and showed Quebecers what they thought.
On behalf of not only the constituents of Haldimand-Norfolk but of all people of Canada I want to say how proud I was of those great Canadians who went from the riding of Haldimand-Norfolk on their own volition to Montreal to express their deep desire for the country to stay together.
All Canadians inside and outside Quebec understand there is nothing we could propose right now to the Government of Quebec and to the Bloc Quebecois that would make them happy. There is nothing we could propose right that would make them all of a sudden jump up and say that they want to stay in Canada. They are not prepared to do that.
What the Prime Minister has done, and I think he has done it very well, is drafted it in a way that he is giving exactly what he committed to. He is opening the door for future commitments and future negotiations in 1997 or 1998. He is allowing Canadians the time to sit down and work on some of the problems we have as a country.
I call on all Canadians to take up the challenge of the Prime Minister to go to Quebec, to Alberta or British Columbia and tell them we need to keep the country together and that the fact the United Nations considers us the number one country in the world is no mistake.
It is because we have been able to draw together, to work together, to bring the diversity of Canadians together and to focus attention on working for the betterment of not only Canadians but the country as a whole. We have stayed together all these years because of that desire of Canadians.
There are those who ask: "What is Canadian? What is Canada?" Some people say Canada is something that is not American. I believe we saw in Montreal what Canada really stands for: for sharing, caring and working together. The motion tries to build on that. I ask Canadians to challenge the naysayers and those in Quebec who say that English Canada does not want them based on history and on fact.
Recently we observed Remembrance Day with ceremonies in which we remembered the strong dedication that many Canadians gave to their country. We recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of the end of the war in Europe. Those Canadians died for their country, believing in their country. I wonder what they would think today about the ongoing debate in the House, what they would think about the silliness of some of what is being said. They fought and gave their all for their country. They deserve our giving them something back. We should sit down, talk, throw away politics, throw away the rhetoric and let their memory guide us in terms of our deliberations.
On behalf of my constituents of Haldimand-Norfolk, I want to tell Quebecers there is a desire on our part to make things right. I think Quebecers are being told lies about the position of English speaking Canadians in rural areas. My constituents would like a chance to sit down and talk with their French speaking compatriots.
People in Haldimand-Norfolk are proud of Canada, and they think we have accomplished great things together over the last few years. We would like you Quebecers to try to understand how we feel. Do not believe all the talk about English speaking Canadians being willing to let you go and not being ready to compromise. We are ready. Let us get together and talk about it.
I am not sure, Mr. Speaker, whether you understood what I said. Perhaps you can read the translation afterward. I say on behalf of the people of Haldimand-Norfolk that we need to sit down, to throw away the rhetoric, to put politics behind us and to share our common values of what is Canadian. We can do that and at the same time we can work on what Canadians really want.
We can work on making the economy work. We can work on a health care system that is envied the world over. We can work on saving the environment. These are all very important issues that we need to address. We do not need to be talking about the Constitution at this time.
In our three-point plan we are trying to make sure that as Canadians and as legislators responsible for all of Canada and not just one region or one province, we make it very well known to Quebecers that we love the country, that we need them as a part of the country for it to be strong and that we recognize their distinctiveness. We recognize they have a distinct and different language from that of a lot of Canadians. We recognize they have a
different culture and a different legal system. I only wish the opposition party, Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition, would recognize it.
