André Bellavance

[Government of Canada, December 15th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the list of federal decisions that go against the interests of Quebec is so long that I did not have time to finish it yesterday. I will continue today: $8 billion in cuts annually, including $60 million at Human Resources and $7 million at Economic Development for which we do not have any details; astronomical spending on war planes; the creation of a Canada-wide securities commission; the inclusion of supply management in international trade agreements; the reduction in rural postal services. I could go on, but the session is wrapping up.

If the government thinks this was a good fall for Quebec, as the Minister of Veterans Affairs claims, then I would hate to see a bad fall.

[Government of Canada, December 14th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, with Christmas fast approaching, Quebeckers have nothing to celebrate considering the federal government's actions. Reducing Quebec's political weight, withdrawing from Kyoto, scrapping the data from the gun registry, imposing a costly and regressive justice model, weakening copyright and undermining our culture, abandoning the Davie workers, appointing unilingual anglophones to key positions, and even idolizing the monarchy all fly in the face of the values of Quebeckers.

Given such a poor performance and so many affronts, will the Prime Minister admit that he has written off Quebec and that recognizing the Quebec nation was simply a smokescreen?

[The Bloc Québécois, December 12th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, no matter what the federalist parties say or think, the Bloc Québécois is still very much alive, and I have the great pleasure of announcing that Daniel Paillé has been chosen as leader of the Bloc Québécois. My colleagues and I would like to congratulate him on the campaign that he conducted with conviction and determination.

Starting today, the Bloc Québécois will tackle a big job—showing Quebeckers that they do not belong in this Canada, which does not reflect who they are, and that an independent Quebec would have everything it needs to make its own laws, collect its own taxes and sign treaties, while respecting its own values.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the thousands of Bloc Québécois supporters who participated in this important democratic exercise. Their participation and support are proof of the Bloc Québécois's relevance.

Finally, I take my hat off to the member for Ahuntsic and the member for Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia for their important contribution to this leadership race.

Together, with conviction and determination, we will succeed in accomplishing this task. As Daniel Paillé, our new leader, said yesterday, “Let us get to work”.

[Government Priorities, December 9th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, the government is about to require $8 billion in cuts per year, twice as much as it anticipated in its economic statement presented just one month ago. At the same time, the Conservatives are going to spend $19 billion on prisons, $30 billion on fighter jets, and tens of millions of dollars on monarchist symbols and the commemoration of a forgotten war against the United States.

Will the Minister of Finance get his priorities straight by making cuts in those areas and guarantee that service to the public and transfers to Quebec will not be affected?

[International Trade, December 8th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, through leaks we have learned details on the negotiation of the Canada-European Union free trade agreement, such as the discussions about the supply management system that the Conservative government deliberately left on the table, the price of drugs and the protection of culture. Since these matters particularly affect Quebeckers, they would like to be informed of the content and the potential impacts of the negotiations.

Will the government finally be open with Parliament and Canadians and stop negotiating behind closed doors?

[Fair Representation Act, December 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, considering what we are seeing here today, I would suggest to the Minister of State for Democratic Reform that he change his title to “minister for undemocratic reform”. As one hon. colleague said earlier, nine time allocation and closure motions have been moved since this session began, in order to shut down debate in this House. This is a rather delicate subject, because it has to do with the foundations on which Canada was built.

I am a sovereignist and I want Quebec to become a sovereign country. Nevertheless, federalists and sovereignists alike in the Quebec National Assembly unanimously agree that Quebec's political weight must not be decreased. The Conservatives are imposing a gag order here in order to speed things up. As other members have already said, the Conservatives' only goal is to have more seats because they believe that their party will represent those regions.

Why are they in such a hurry to disregard the wishes of Quebec and decrease its political weight? I do not understand why the minister is so unwilling to listen to the members of this House or of Quebec's National Assembly.

[Points of Order, December 7th, 2011]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday we commemorated the terrible massacre of 14 young women who were killed for anti-feminist reasons at École Polytechnique in Montreal 22 years ago. In the meantime, a video was being broadcast on the Internet and on television of the inappropriate and disgraceful gestures made by the hon. member for Lethbridge during a vote in the House on eliminating the firearms registry. He was making gun-shooting gestures with his hands. Not only has he not apologized in the House—and I do not believe he has apologized outside the House either—but in an article I found today in La Presse, he said it was just a subtle, little gesture. He is making a mockery of this and even says that his Conservative colleagues facing him were not offended.

I am asking the hon. member for Lethbridge to do the right thing and apologize for the gestures he made during the vote on November 1. Obviously in a democracy we are entitled to vote for or against abolishing the firearms registry. Everyone in the House respects that right. However, this is not about democracy, but about contempt. That type of gesture shows contempt for the victims, the victims' families and the House. I know that decorum is important to you, Mr. Speaker. We are not talking about subtle, little gestures. If the hon. member for Lethbridge refuses to apologize—and I will close on this—then someone from the Conservative government side should stand up, condemn those gestures and say that the hon. Conservative members and the Conservative government were indeed offended by the gestures made by the hon. member for Lethbridge. He should stand up and apologize.

[Fair Representation Act, December 6th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, 30 seconds is not long enough to debate the member for Saint-Laurent—Cartierville; it could take a lot longer than that. People need to understand that what is being ignored here is Quebec's political weight. I know many arguments have been raised regarding demographic weight and that many constitutional changes have been made since 1867. But one thing is certain: Quebec will always demand that its political weight be respected, and I am not talking about demographic weight. Bill C-20 scorns Quebec's political weight.

[Fair Representation Act, December 6th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, yes, we plan to support this bill. Furthermore, when it was introduced, the Bloc Québécois's position was already well known in that regard. Unlike my colleague, I am in favour of complete representation in Quebec, that is, at the National Assembly; I want Quebec to become a sovereign country. Until then, in this House, we will support every measure that gives Quebec its proper place. The National Assembly has spoken unanimously, which is significant. We often say that here, but with good reason. The elected members of the Quebec National Assembly represent their population and when we bring their voices here, it means something. We represent—

[Fair Representation Act, December 6th, 2011]

Madam Speaker, I understand that the member is defending the best interests of Canadians, as he says. I am here to defend the best interests of Quebec. As I said in my speech, and I did not make this up, Quebec has more than once introduced motions unanimously calling on this Parliament not to change Quebec's political weight here in the House.

There were times when Quebec was guaranteed a political weight in the House of Commons of about 25%. There are 308 members in the House. The Quebec National Assembly is calling on the government not to reduce Quebec's existing weight, which is 24.35%. My colleague can bring out all the arguments he wants, valid or not, but one thing is certain: Quebec is not being respected in this bill.