Bernard Trottier

[Canadian Museum of History Act, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for Don Valley West for all his fine work in the House, on Parliament Hill and in his own riding.

When we talk about bringing Canadians together, it is one thing to have a museum in the national capital region, but it is important that these artifacts and stories be celebrated throughout the country. It is a vast country. There are 2,500 local and regional museums in Canada. Already the Canadian museum of history is setting up partnerships with regional museums around the country. Just recently it announced partnership agreements with the Manitoba Museum and the Royal B.C. Museum.

We need to get these artifacts out of storage. I do not know if the House is aware, but over 90% of the artifacts are actually in storage. Sharing with other museums would allow people to put on exhibitions and collectively share. It would require the museum of history to act as the focal point and the coordinator across the country. That is why it is important to have this mandate.

[Canadian Museum of History Act, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, of the funds that will be devoted to the Canadian Museum of History, $25 million will be used for to carry out renovations and develop the museum's new mandate. There will also be new funds to celebrate Canada’s history. New projects will be launched, such as the Canada history week and the Canada history fund, to provide more tools for the educators who teach the subject. There will also be funds to truly spark students' interest in history.

There is a whole program to discover and celebrate history. There is so much going on in addition to the museum. In fact, there is a host of other programs that will be implemented as part of this new vision that we must celebrate. We have to tell Canadian stories.

[Canadian Museum of History Act, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to Bill C-49, a bill to create the Canadian museum of history.

The government believes in national museums, and we recognize the tremendous value they hold for all Canadians. However, while our national institutions do magnificent work as guardians of our heritage, not one is dedicated to telling the full story of our country. That is why we are making a one-time investment of $25 million to establish the Canadian museum of history. This funding is not new money, but rather comes from the existing budget for Canadian Heritage. This new national museum will provide an opportunity for us to learn more about our rich Canadian history.

The Canadian museum of history will grow out of the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The government is refreshing the mandate and orientation of the museum. Just as schools modernize curriculum in accordance with new events and discoveries, the new Canadian museum of history will present a comprehensive story of this country.

Change is not new to this institution. The Canadian Museum of Civilization began in 1856 with the establishment of a museum by the Geological Survey of Canada. With roots stretching back far into the past, the Canadian Museum of Civilization is one of North America's oldest cultural institutions. As staff of the survey fanned out across the country, they gathered cultural information and artifacts, as well as carried out their main tasks in geology and science.

Ever since its beginnings from a modest collection the museum has been evolving. Indeed, its ability to adapt and evolve is what has made it so successful. Just think, in 1862, the Geological Survey of Canada mounted its first ethnological exhibit, a single display case containing first peoples stone implements, clay pipes and a few fragments of pottery.

Today, the Canadian Museum of Civilization welcomes over 1.6 million visitors on average each year. It houses permanent galleries that explore 20,000 years of human history. Its program of special exhibitions expands on Canadian themes and explores other cultures and civilizations, past and present.

The museum is also a major research institution with staff who are leading experts in Canadian history, archeology, ethnology and culture.

In 1968, and with a new mandate, the National Museum of Man was established as part of a group known as the National Museums of Canada. Nearly 20 years later, in 1986, it was renamed the Canadian Museum of Civilization. It subsequently moved to Gatineau, into the fabulous building designed by Douglas Cardinal. The building itself illustrates the museum's history, with a structure that suggests fluidity and flexibility.

The transformation of the Canadian Museum of Civilization will take place over the next five years and will provide a number of opportunities to celebrate Canada's history in the lead-up to 2017.

At present, the museum has four permanent exhibition galleries: the Grand Hall, the First Peoples Hall, the Canada Hall and Face to Face: The Canadian Personalities Hall. The new permanent gallery will replace both the Canada Hall and the Canadian Personalities Hall.

More than 4,000 m² of exhibition space will be renovated to create permanent exhibition space presenting a national historical narrative. This space will feature the largest and most comprehensive exhibition on Canadian history ever developed.

It will be the place where Canadians can go to retrace their national journey and find national treasures. It will be where they can learn about the people, events and themes that have shaped our country's development and defined the Canadian experience. Including key events and episodes from our past, it will tell some of the greatest Canadian stories.

The museum has carried out a series of consultations, online and in person, to solicit the views of Canadians on the stories, people, themes and events that they want to see in the new museum. More than 20,000 Canadians contributed, expressing what they expect of the museum in general, and particularly in the new Canadian history hall.

Here are some highlights. Canadians want our museums to be comprehensive, frank and fair in our presentation of their history. They want us to examine both the good and the bad from our past.

They also want the museum to foster a sense of national pride without ignoring our failings, mistakes and controversies.

They want to see various viewpoints and voices, recognizing that people and events can be interpreted in different ways through different eyes.

I am delighted that the new exhibit space will feature national treasures such as explorer Samuel de Champlain’s astrolabe, the last spike from the Canadian Pacific Railway and Maurice Richard's number 9 Habs jersey.

At the same time, the museum's president and CEO has said that the new exhibitions will deal with Canada's history, warts and all. That is an important point. Many episodes in our history are critically important, like the internment of Japanese Canadians or the situation of aboriginal people in residential schools. Canadians can learn so much from our history.

At present, there is no mention in the Canada Hall of the flag debate or the Constitution, the wartime internment of Ukrainian or Japanese Canadians or Terry Fox and his Marathon of Hope. There is no meaningful reference to the Great Depression or the conscription crisis. Most important, the Canada Hall does not begin with first peoples but with the arrival of Europeans in the 11th century. Clearly, this needs to change.

The Museum of Civilization tells the story of human history and identity in Canada. The new Canadian museum of history will be the next phase of that story, helping define us as citizens of Canada and the world.

Why does our government feel that it is so important to focus the interest on Canada's collective history?

In 2017, this country will celebrate its 150th birthday. In the lead-up to that celebration, it is important that Canadians know about, appreciate and celebrate our history.

A new national museum devoted to our history will highlight our achievements as a nation and will help Canadians learn more about their rich and diverse history.

I hope that many Canadians will celebrate the 150th anniversary of our country in the newly renovated halls of the Canadian museum of history.

I hope that all my colleagues in the House will support Bill C-49.

[Canadian Museum of History Act, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his comments on the Canadian Museum of History.

It was a good idea to reinforce the message that it involves not only a name change for the museum, but also programs that will be travelling to other museums.

He talked about Canada history week, for instance, and the Canada history fund. It is therefore $25 million for the change to the museum, but it is $12 million per year for all these programs.

Could he tell us more about how these programs will go hand in hand with the changes to the museum, so that our history can be told all across the country?

[Canadian Museum of History Act, June 17th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I have worked with the member for Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley repeatedly. He is very learned and a former educator. I would like him to talk about how this would help educators learn more about Canada's history.

In addition to the expansion to the museum, there are some other announcements we have made. The Canada history fund, for example, which will be administered by Canada's National History Society, will honour outstanding students and teachers; the museums assistance program will bring some of these exhibitions to different parts of the country; and the virtual museum of Canada includes a teachers' centre.

Could the member please describe how this could be used as a much better learning tool for students so they can learn about our history?

[Interparliamentary Delegations, June 13th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34(1), I have the honour to present to the House, in both official languages, the reports of the Canadian delegation of the Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie (APF) respecting its participation at the meeting of the Political Committee of the APF, held in Rabat, Morocco, on April 10 and 11, 2013; and its participation at the meeting of the Executive Committee and at the first intersessional meeting of the Network of Women Parliamentarians of the APF, held in Dakar, Senegal, on April 25 and 26, 2013.

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2013, June 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I liked what the parliamentary secretary described as a business partnership between countries. Obviously, Canada likes to have a lot of trade with various countries. There are 90 other countries in the world with which we have tax treaties and these are six more. In fact, these are four new ones and amendments to our tax treaties with Luxembourg and Switzerland.

My question for the hon. member is to ask him to describe the importance of having tax treaties like this when it comes to investment, trade, business development, new business opportunities and direct foreign investment. This is one of the foundational elements. There are other things, of course, such as mobility agreements, bilateral agreements on social security, and so forth. I would ask him to tell us why this is an important cornerstone to establishing a better relationship between Canada and other countries.

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2013, June 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Don Valley East for his eloquent speech in which he hit all of the key points.

We are here to talk about tax treaties, but obviously there are other areas that are affected. He discussed the importance of foreign direct investment in both directions in his speech: Canada and Canadian companies investing in companies overseas, which would like to have some tax treaties in place, as well as trade.

I would ask the member to talk about the impact of having tax treaties in place and how that facilitates increased foreign direct investment in both directions, and also increased trade in both directions.

[Tax Conventions Implementation Act, 2013, June 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the minister for clarifying the importance of getting these tax treaties passed. He mentioned that if this legislation is not passed within this calendar year, we might not be able to implement things by January 1, 2014. It might have to be postponed until January 1, 2015.

Could the minister perhaps explain the importance of tax treaties when it comes to overall trade with certain countries? If tax treaties are not in place, what would be some of the impediments to our trade with various countries, and what would that mean ultimately for jobs and economic growth in Canada?

[The Member for Jeanne-Le Ber, June 10th, 2013]

Mr. Speaker, our government is working hard to reduce the tax burden on Canadian families. We have reduced taxes more than 150 times.

Canadians are proud of this record and expect everyone to pay their fair share. In particular, they rightly expect elected representatives to lead by example.

Unfortunately, the hon. member for Jeanne-Le Ber does not seem to agree. In fact, he owes tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid taxes to Revenue Quebec and to the Canada Revenue Agency.

How can the Leader of the Opposition tolerate such behaviour in his caucus without any consequences? How can he ask Canadians to pay more taxes when members of his own caucus are not paying their taxes?

Since he is unwilling to do so, our government will send this message to the opposition: pay your taxes.