Mr. Speaker, I would first like to thank and congratulate my colleague from Trois-Rivières on her speech, which allowed all of those listening to us to understand why, on this opposition day, the Bloc Québécois has chosen to speak about the motion before us, which is as follows:
That, in the opinion of the House, the government should immediately renounce two measures contained in the recent budget:
(a) establishing a national securities commission, because establishing such a commission would constitute an intolerable intrusion into Quebec’s jurisdiction, and the current passport system functions very well; and
(b) unilaterally amending the equalization formula, since the Prime Minister, in a letter to the Premier of Quebec dated March 19, 2007, promised that transfers to the provinces would be predictable and long term, and should also comply with the government of Quebec’s request to give the revenues generated by Hydro-Québec’s transmission and distribution activities the same treatment, regardless of the equalization calculation, as that given Hydro One’s revenues.
As the member for Trois-Rivières mentioned, it is difficult for the Bloc Québécois to understand and admit that there are members from other political parties, representing Quebec, who do not support this motion.
As a reminder—it has been stated, but it is important enough to repeat—in January 2009, not long ago, a few weeks at most, the National Assembly passed a unanimous motion expressing Quebec's demands. It was unanimous, supported by both the federalist parties, the Quebec Liberal Party and Action démocratique du Québec, and the sovereignist party, the Parti Québécois.
I would remind the House that in the National Assembly's unanimous motion, there were two paragraphs that are reflected in the motion we have moved. I will read them in the order they appear in the motion that was passed by the National Assembly in January 2009:
That it [the National Assembly] demand that the Federal Government maintain the equalization programme that is currently in place...and that it reiterate its firm opposition to the Canada-wide securities commission project.
It is a bit difficult to understand how Quebeckers, parliamentarians, who, in theory, represent Quebec here can vote against the motion tabled by the Bloc Québécois, which is universally supported in Quebec. I see that as additional proof that only the members of Bloc Québécois, such as the member for Trois-Rivières, are truly in this House to defend unconditionally the interest and values of Quebec. However, those members will have to make their explanations to voters and to the members of the National Assembly.
Regarding the first part of our motion dealing with the national securities commission, in constitutional terms, this issue is very clear. We know the Canadian constitution goes back to 1867 and that in certain fields there have been so many changes that there could be grounds for a debate among constitutionalists. The Supreme Court could also be called on to rule on subjects such as telecommunications, for example. It is clear that in 1867 that question never arose. In our view, it is very clear that this is an extension of Quebec’s jurisdiction in the field of culture. Unfortunately, as is too often the case, the Supreme Court has spoken in a way that leans toward the Canadian federal position.
However, it is expressly stated in the Canadian constitution that securities fall within the jurisdiction of the provinces and of Quebec. Moreover, it is hard to understand how a Conservative government that sometimes, although less and less, boasts of a federalism of openness, could move straight ahead with a proposal that goes against not only the Canadian constitution—once again, it is clearly stated in the provisions of the Constitution of 1867—but also against public opinion in Quebec.
I have mentioned the motion adopted by the National Assembly, but the great majority of the Quebec business community is also against this proposal for a national securities commission. I have heard what the directors of the Mouvement Desjardins, for example, think about it. Obviously, the directors of the Autorité des marchés financiers, which includes our Quebec securities commission, have also explained the reasons for maintaining the current system.
The passport system, for example, has proved its worth. External evaluations by the OECD and the International Monetary Fund have confirmed the good reputation of all the systems in Quebec and Canada. I recall that in 2006 a study by the World Bank and Lex Mundi ranked Canada in third place in terms of protecting investors, while the United States and the United Kingdom ranked seventh and ninth, respectively. In its 2006 report, the OECD also ranked Canada second in security regulation, ahead of the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
So enough of telling us that the current system is inefficient. The passport system, which perhaps ought to be further developed, responds fully to the needs of investors and companies that need to deal with those structures.
This is nothing but an excuse. Once again, the Conservatives are using this excuse, as they have on other issues, in the current economic crisis to give the impression that a national securities commission could have prevented things. They are insulting people's intelligence. People are not stupid, particularly people in Quebec.
In July 2007, not many people could have imagined that the financial crisis would grow to these proportions. Let us not delude ourselves into thinking that a Canada-wide commission would have done any better. On the contrary, we can see that in centralized systems, the effectiveness and enforcement of the regulations have by no means been proven.
Another factor, and one of the hobbyhorses often raised by the Minister of Finances, relates to the costs associated with the securities commission system we have in Quebec and in the provinces with that system. That system is entirely consistent with the Canadian Constitution. So then we are told that the costs are the problem. In 2002, the direct costs of regulation, per million of capitalization, were $145 in Canada, compared to $141 in the United States. So we see that in terms of value for money, the present system serves us better than a centralized system.
It is very clear in this regard. The Minister of Finance is acting solely in the interests of the Bay Street financial community. He wants to make sure that the entire financial world is concentrated in Toronto and controlled by Toronto. That would be extremely damaging for the Quebec economy. I will give you an example.
Imagine that this Canada-wide securities commission had been in existence at the time of the merger between the Montreal Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Toronto financial community would have been judge and jury in its own trial, in that case. Would we have been able to get what we got—conditions imposed to ensure that the Montreal Stock Exchange continued to develop its activities alongside Toronto’s? No, the fact that we have the Autorité des marchés financiers québécois, a Quebec securities commission, meant that we were able to study the transaction and attach certain conditions that would never have been attached, and make no mistake about that, if we had had a Canada-wide securities commission. In our opinion, there is every reason to preserve the situation as it now stands.
I will conclude with the equalization question, which has been mentioned several times. The March 19 letter from the Prime Minister of Canada is very clear on that subject. I would like to respond to the Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State for Agriculture. He says that if Quebec were sovereign, we would lose $8 billion in equalization. In fact, we would lose that $8 billion, but we would gain $50 billion in income tax, which would flow back into the public purse in Quebec. We would no longer need equalization and transfer payments from the federal government. We would therefore come out a long way ahead. For that reason, more and more Quebeckers think that sovereignty is the solution of the future for Quebec.
