Benoît Sauvageau

[Montfort Hospital, February 5th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday marked the final verdict in the Montfort hospital case. As we had hoped, the Ontario government agreed to accept the decision of the Court of Appeal of Ontario, which recognized the indispensable role of Montfort Hospital in allowing francophone communities to achieve their full potential.

I extend the congratulations of the Bloc Quebecois to all those who have stood up for their beliefs over the past five years and have been involved to any degree in battling for the survival of the sole French language teaching hospital west of Quebec.

My thoughts go out particularly to Gisèle Lalonde, a lady whose strong convictions inspired the vigorous resistance and spirit of an entire community. She had a large part to play in this final victory.

Calling to mind the origins of this lengthy battle, the hugeness of the task to be accomplished, and the strength of the adversary, we must acknowledge today that from the very beginning the great symbols of communities have always been built upon the exceptional perseverance, convictions and effectiveness of a handful of extraordinary men and women.

Madame Lalonde deserves our congratulations and our gratitude for this great victory.

[Youth Criminal Justice Act, February 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the hon. member's speech and I have a question for him.

The purpose of Bill C-7 is to repeal and replace the Young Offenders Act. Could the hon. member tell us what he believes is, in fact, not working in this act and what the new Bill C-7 will rectify?

[Youth Criminal Justice Act, February 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, is the truth only on one side or the other or both? I have a very simple question for the member for Laval East.

She has consulted many groups in Quebec. Could she name one group in Quebec that is in favour of Bill C-7?

[Youth Criminal Justice Act, February 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the question the minister was asked earlier was a simple one. How many groups from Quebec appeared before the committee and how many supported his bill? One, five, ten, twenty-five? How many?

[Youth Criminal Justice Act, February 4th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, I have two questions for the Minister of Justice. He just mentioned the number of witnesses heard by the committee. What I wish to hear is not the number of witnesses but what those witnesses said. Second, how many groups from Quebec appeared before the committee to support the bill? None. Finally, how many groups has the minister met in Quebec since his appointment as minister?

[Official Languages, January 30th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has just become another member of the “I never said that” club.

He can say whatever he wants but can he deny that he is involved in a shameful blackmailing of the francophone communities in Canada by telling them “Quit making a fuss and you will get more money”?

[Official Languages, January 30th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday the minister responsible for official languages said, “The government will continue to analyze carefully any situation and support linguistic minority communities when necessary”.

The minister can quote whatever part of his speech suits him, but will he acknowledge that the real message he is continuing to send to the francophone communities is “If you made less fuss, you would get more money for other things”?

[Official Languages, January 29th, 2002]

Mr. Speaker, last week the minister responsible for official languages stated, “I will not say which initiatives we have had to abandon for the current fiscal year in order to fund these bilingual tickets”.

Is the minister trying to tell francophone minorities that their rights are subject to budgetary restrictions?

[“Hugs for peace” Project, December 11th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, recently a number of schools in the des Affluents school district have been involved in an activity connected to the tragic events of September 11.

This project, which was the idea of the religious studies coordinator, was designed to raise the children's awareness and give them a way of expressing themselves. All participants had a chance to express their emotions and to make a symbolic gesture showing how important peace and freedom was to them.

The “hugs for peace” project was made up of three phases: a brief discussion of the September 11 events, a hug or handshake between pupils and staff, and a drawing or letter to be sent to the Prime Minister expressing their reasons for wanting to live in a better world.

The participants hope to raise the awareness of MPs, and the Prime Minister in particular, by sending in over 7,000 letters and drawings. I and my colleague from Terrebonne--Blainville wish to congratulate everyone involved in this project.

[Official Languages, December 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, despite the fine words of the Minister of Transport concerning the respect of the Official Languages Act by Air Canada, the government set us straight yesterday with the statement that there is no specific penalty relating to non-compliance with this legislation.

Does the Minister of Transport not agree that, in actual fact, there is no political will to enforce the law and that this situation will have to change if there is any real desire to protect French, in particular its use on Air Canada?