CPAC - Thursday, May 23, 2024 - 10:00 a.m. (ET) - Segment #4

to go back to what we define as Canadian federalism. We have to draw distinction on one side between a you a unitary state which has all powers, and if you took politics, you would know this, and federation which has the autonomy of a fed federated state. Federated state namely the provinces and Quebec. This means in their areas of jurisdiction, all students who studied law or political science know this that provinces should be auto autonomous. This means that the Quebec state is autonomous in the Canadian context. So it's clear from our party that the Quebec party is able to make it own its own decisions to ensure its future and vitality. And even Quebec's federalists recognize this reality. >> Voice of Interpreter: And that's why the vast majority of politicians at the national assembly define themselves as autonomous. That's how it's done in Quebec. If Luke at the PQ, SAQ, Quebec Solidaire, all these parties want more power for the Quebec nation to ensure Quebec's future. And even in a slacker or softer way if you will, the Liberal Party of Quebec want Quebec to have more powers. As proof of this, there are so many unanimous motions. Every time the Federal Government encroaches on Quebec's jurisdiction, there is a unanimous motion coming out of the Quebec national assembly. And if you look at Quebec's history, you can see it is undeniable that all the Governments of Quebec over time starting with Duplesis all the way to Legault, bouchard, the Quebec Government's goal has always been to extend Quebec's powers, and we have seen this in the constitutional negotiations even though those were mostly at Quebec's expense. And you can see this in the deals with the Federal Government around immigration and labour. There is an independence in the economy in terms of autonomy. And a federalist clearly explained Quebec's situation, and he said that the history and current state of our federalism clearly demonstrate Quebec's deep attachment to its autonomy within the federal system. And this is easily explained. The minority status of the people of Quebec within Canada gives Quebec's fear of autonomy rising from the division of powers a very special value. So auto autonomy for a minority nation, this is Benoit Pelletier who was acknowledging that autonomy for a minority nation is a matter of survival. Quebec is a minority nation within Canada, so defending our autonomy is a matter of survival. Other provinces for them, their autonomy might be neither here nor there. But for Quebec, it's a question of survival. And ever since I got here in 2019, I wondered why is it that only Bloc members condemn this predatory federalism. And I am choosing my words deliberately. Predator federalism that is undermining the Quebec nation. My colleagues from Quebec and the Liberal, Conservative, and NDP party never condemn this federal predatory encroachment. And that is because it suits them right down to the dprowndground. ground. It's their bread and butter if you will. What the Liberals and NDP have done is use this predatory federalism as a tool to boost their popularity. That's what they did with drug insurance, dental insurance, the farmcare, the underfunding healthcare. All these things are waist of boosting their popularity by wading in with the massive federal spending power. A predator is someone who ensures their own survival at the expense of others. They use their power to take advantage of their competitor's

weakness. There is an imbalance of power here. The feds have all the money, and they can bring Quebec to it its knees. That spending power creates the fiscal imbalance, so this is a vicious cycle. Jean Chrétien in all his splendor had an epiphany at one point in his life and realized he could cut transfer payments without paying any political price, and that was the origin of the fiscal imbalance. To predatory federalism also works for Conservatives. It suits them even though they say they are more respectful of Quebec's ideas is. The Conservative leader is also seeking to build his own domination through, and he says this publicly that he's going to challenge bill 91 and bill 26, and that needs meets the needs of the Anglo minority in Quebec and also panders to the ethnocultural community in greater Toronto, so he can say to Quebec, well, I am gonna, your independence in Quebec is very low on my priority list. And so they are all in favour of paying lip service to Quebec jurisdictions as long as it doesn't cause any problem for them. And so the only French-speaking nation in North America according to all the federal party, Quebec must become Canadians like everyone else. And perhaps I will wrap up on this point. The Prime Minister like everyone else, people aren't really interested in these jurisdictional squabbles, and they decided the mayors are incompetent and the feds will take care of the housing file. So federalist party really don't give a darn about jurisdictional issues. And so the door is wide open for federal encroachments. People in Quebec specifically don't give a darn about the Federal Government's excuses on the file. It reflects our ability to integrate newcomers, and people don't care about the failures of the EI system or just want their benefits. Quebecers don't care about big oil's profits. They spend 34 billion on a pipeline, and they are going to squeeze 33 billion out of us by 2035. Quebecerswant a healthcare system that meets their needs and isn't underfunded. So. Questions and comments. The honourable member. Thank you, Madam Speaker. And I would like to thank my colleague for his speech, my colleague for Joliette. I have a question if and have respect for everyone here in the house who represents their constituents. But my question is about jurisdictions. We respect jurisdictions on a Government to Government level, by my question to my colleague is to quote the premier Legault when he said what is the point of having the Bloc Québécois in Ottawa because when we're dealing with issues between the Government in Ottawa and Quebec City, it's Government to Government not the Bloc Québécois is not involved in those discussions. The honourable member for Jonquière. I could repeat the severe criticism of Mr. Legault, the criticism that he directed at Ottawa in the media. The Government was very critical of the pharmacare plans and very critical of the dental care plans. Not just premier Legault but all members in the national

assembly. They through a unanimous resolution indicated to the Liberal Government that they were acting outside their area of jurisdiction. If that doesn't raise a flag for my colleague, I don't know what's going to make her snap out of it. >> The Federal Government recently had to take the Government to court over my province's right to natural resources, and the Supreme Court of Canada subsequently ruled against the federal Liberals and in favour of arguments from the provinces about how major resource projects should be approved in the country. And the Liberals persist in violating provincial rights in this area. Quebec has many natural resource projects that could be impacted by the Liberal Government's inappropriate incursions into this jurisdiction like the critical minerals strategy. Does the member believe this applies to accessing the province's judicial jurisdictional right to their natural resources. >> Voice of Interpreter: The honourable member for Jonquière. I fully agree with my colleague. The Bloc has already tabled a bill according to which all environmental impact assessments impacting natural resources should come under provincial jurisdiction and Quebec's jurisdiction. But I would go further. I don't think it is acceptable for Quebec to fund a pipeline to the tune of $34 billion. Quebec through their taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for a pipeline that they don't even want. And we shouldn't be using our taxes to subsidize the oil patch. And I think each province and Quebec should have quul jurisdiction over natural resource development. The honourable member. The thank you, Madam Speaker. Edmonton like to thank my colleague for his speech. The Bloc always says when it is good for Quebec, we'll vote for t but I think they should look at what's good for Quebecers. For example for people who don't have dental insurance, we in Ottawa said we will get that done for you. we delivered the merchandise. And there were so many Quebecers that didn't have any dental coverage. And we're spending billions of dollars over it will be $4 billion over five years for Quebecers. And this will help people who can't afford a dentist. There is no Quebec program for seniors who don't have dental care, so we will help people in need. People came to see me and said thank you for your work on that. The honourable member for Jonquière. I am just going to say that members can say their own name. They can't say other people's names. The honourable member for Jonquière. Madam Speaker, I would just point out to my colleague that what Quebecers want is a healthcare system that's worthy of the name. And the ongoing underfunding of healthcare has made it possible for the Federal Government to wade in and initiate new programs while at the same time upped underfunding healthcare writ large. So these pharmacare programs from the Federal Government, they're just on paper. Nothing has been done yet, and it wasn't done in consultation with Quebec. The only reason why they implemented pharmacare and dentalcare is to get the Liberals and the NDP boosted in popularity and in the polls how people intend to vote. The honourable Minister. Thank you, Madam Speaker. I will be sharing my time with my colleague. Thank you very much. Thank you for giving me this opportunity. I hope I will be able to use this opportunity to underscore our Government's commitment to Quebec. I am a proud member from Quebec from a rural Francophone riding primarily. I have lived in Quebec my whole life. I am a proud Quebec member. I am a defender of the Quebec language. And I would like to point out that our cooperation with Quebec since 2015 has been going very well. I rise today, Madam Speaker, to point out that our Government has always been there to support Quebec, and we fully intend to continue to help Quebec on behalf of all Quebecers. And the Bloc doesn't like it. They like to pick fight. But our record shows that we can work well for the benefit of

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