CPAC - Thursday, May 23, 2024 - 03:00 p.m. (ET) - Segment #3

care system to the degree in which we have today, Mr. Speaker. There is a hidden Conservative agenda. We can look at the province of Saskatchewan and how it contributed to the health care system. We now have a national child care system. We need to look at the province of Quebec and what the province of Quebec provided which ultimately led to us having a $10 a day national child care program. That's the benefits of a federation, that we can take a look in terms of what's working well and look at how we can turn things in to a program so that all Canadians with benefit by it. So whether you live in Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton, Halifax, or anywhere in between or going up north to Whitehorse, that we understand that there's national things that we can all treasure, whether it's programs like OAS, employment insurance, Mr. Speaker, that were brought in by Prime Ministers like Mackenzie King, national programs. These are the types of programs that this Prime Minister and that this government, this collection of liberal Members of Parliament continue to push day in and day out, looking and listening to what our constituents are telling us, bringing it forward to Ottawa and developing a policy that's going to help Canadians, Mr. Speaker Speaker, and unfortunately, time and time again, whether we see it coming from the Bloc in terms of breaking up the nation to the Conservatives who don't care about providing the type of social safety net that Canadians have grown to believe in and want to see expanded, Mr. Speaker. Nothing wrong with being a government that cares with competence and that's what this Prime Minister and this government has continuously delivered for Canadians. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. >> The Speaker: (Voice of Interpreter): Questions and comments, the Honourable Member for Bertier-Maskinonge. >> (Voice of Interpreter): Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. We recognize our colleague's passion, but it's not always in the right direction. I will read two quotes to him, and I'd like him to provide his opinion on them. This is is from Lester Pearson, a Liberal Prime Minister, his political party: Even if Quebec is a province in this confederation, it is more than a province because it is the home of a people. That is why it is fair to say it is a nation within a nation." That's the first. The second, Mr. Speaker, "we must take measures, provisions, so that Quebec has de facto power in the sectors it wants to have in its authority by imposing centralism that could be acceptable for some provinces. It certainly was not for Quebec." This is a former Prime Minister saying that. I would like him to listen, and by saying that Quebec should be treated like the other provinces, we could destroy Canada. My question to the member, Mr. Speaker, is he aware that it doesn't bother me much, but is he aware that that's what he's doing? >> The Speaker: (Voice of Interpreter): The Honourable Member for Winnipeg north. >> Mr. Speaker, I don't know if the member himself is aware. I have many generations of being here in Canada, which is dated and goes back to the province of Quebec. One of my greatest regrets is that many individuals in western Canada lost the ability to speak French because of all sorts of issues, and ultimately, it was Pierre Elliott Trudeau and the initiatives that he had taken to ensure that the French language was being spoken more outside of the province of Quebec, and I have consistently, consistently through my years as a parliamentarian argued of just how wonderful the French language is and how it contributes to the Canadian identity and how it makes the province of Quebec such a unique, loving place to not only to visit but also to live. Quebec, as other provinces, contribute immensely. I made reference to the child care program. There's many aspects, you know, the culture and the arts, you know, the province of Manitoba and the province of Quebec share many things in common. Industry, you can talk about the aerospace industry, you can talk about hydro, the concerns about the environment. There's all sorts of things. We don't have to tear down the country in order to appreciate. I care for the province of Quebec as much as I care for other areas of Canada and will continue to fight and articulate why it's so critically important that Quebec lead not only Canada but the North America nation in terms of the French language and the unique role that it plays in

ensuring that French will continue not only to be spoken but also to be -- >> The Speaker: Let's go on to the next question because we're running out of time already. The Honourable Member for Cowichan-Malahat-Langford. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. It's great to see the member for Winnipeg north stand in this place and proclaim loudly his support for these important programs like pharmacare and dental care. It's even more so due to the fact that in the 43rd parliament when it came to Bill C-213, introduced by the member for New Westminster Burnaby or a motion on dental care introduced by the former MP jack Harris, that member and the entire Liberal caucus voted against those measures. I'm glad to see on the road to Damascus, the Liberals have led to conversion. What changed? Could it be that the new democrats forced them to do that? >> The Speaker: The Honourable Member for Winnipeg north, parliamentary secretary. >> I get in flashback with my daughter Cindy who's an MLA in the province of Manitoba and I can recall us being on Keewatin Street having these signs and saying we want to have a national pharmacare program, and it would be wonderful to see the province of Manitoba work with Ottawa to make that happen. I can recall a throne speech a few years back where Ottawa in that throne speech, it makes reference to the fact that we are looking for a willing province, you know, the more cooperation we can get from provinces, I like to think that now Manitoba has an NDP government, we can get that much more sympathy towards getting it. I've introduced many petitions on the pharmacare program. I've spoken inside the house on many occasions. Am I glad it's here? I am glad. It's not to take down and belittle that I think the NDP also played an important role in it and I give them credit for that, but I think there's Members of Parliament on all sides of the house, well, maybe not on the Conservatives, but possibly, that support the idea of having a national pharmacare program because it makes a whole lot of sense. When I was in the Manitoba legislature, Mr. Speaker, I was the health care critic and I can tell you, a national pharmacare program, especially if you get provinces working with Ottawa, you can really do some wonderful things to the betterment of all of us. >> The Speaker: (Voice of Interpreter): Questions and comments, the Honourable Member for Joliette. >> (Voice of Interpreter): Thank you, Mr. Speaker. My question for the parliamentary secretary is I would refer him to the confederation. In 1867, the historic compromise was to have assemblies that were each sovereign in their fields of respective jurisdiction. So listening to the parliamentary secretary's speech, what we see is just interference. He's just justifying interference, and he's breaking that agreement of a federation with assemblies that were each sovereign. Is what he wants to have a legislative union with a centralized government where Ottawa knows best and the provinces just administer what Ottawa says because it knows best? >> The Speaker: Honourable government house leader. >> Well, Mr. Speaker, I wouldn't want the member to put words in my mouth. What I am suggesting is at the end of the day, people no matter what region of Canada they live in, appreciate that governments work together. And when governments work together, you get better results, I would ultimately argue. In terms of jurisdiction, we have the Canada Health Act. The Canada Health Act is something which ensures that there is a national health care system from coast to coast to coast. I believe that a majority of people in Canada today support the need for the Canada Health Act. I think that we need to be more appreciative of the many different things that all the different regions have to offer and recognizing the uniquenesses of all the different provincial entities and obviously Quebec stands out amongst because of that sense of French uniqueness and the culture and the arts and the heritage of the province of Quebec. >> The Speaker: (Voice of Interpreter): The Honourable Member for Bertier-Maskinonge. >> (Voice of Interpreter): Well, I thought that my colleague would understand what I read earlier, but he doesn't seem to understand, so I will repeat it. Prime Ministers in Canada have

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