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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 63

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 3, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 63 - May/3/22
Mr. Denis Trudel (Longueuil—Saint-Hubert, BQ)
  • May/3/22 12:38:28 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-8 
Madam Speaker, last spring, the Bloc Québécois moved a motion asking the House to recognize Quebec as a nation with a single official language: French. Most members of the House voted in favour of the motion, but my colleague who just delivered a speech abstained from voting. I suppose she must have had something more important going on that day. Maybe she had to do a little gardening or attend to something on the stove. Today, I would like her to answer one simple question right here before Canada and the people of her riding: Is Quebec a nation, yes or no?
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Context: House Hansard - 63 - May/3/22
Mr. Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'Île, BQ)
  • May/3/22 2:58:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Robert Laplante testified before the Standing Committee on Official Languages and said, “There are not two majorities in Canada; there is only one, and it is an anglophone majority, a representative group of which lives in Quebec.” The government said the same thing in its 2020 throne speech. It said, and I quote, “the situation of French is unique. There are almost 8 million Francophones in Canada within a region of over 360 million inhabitants who are almost exclusively Anglophone.” Is that still what the Minister of Official Languages thinks?
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Context: House Hansard - 63 - May/3/22
Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Lib.)
  • May/3/22 2:59:28 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. As a francophone living in an official language minority community in New Brunswick, I know first-hand how important it is to protect and promote French. That is part of my daily life. That is why I am pleased that my government reintroduced our bill to modernize the Official Languages Act. I hope that my friend and colleague will support this bill and help us pass it as quickly as possible.
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Context: House Hansard - 63 - May/3/22
Mr. Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'Île, BQ)
  • May/3/22 2:59:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the situation of French is unique, but not according to federal language law. Here again I would like to quote what Robert Laplante told the committee. He said, “It is...indefensible to suggest that the situation of French in Quebec is perfectly symmetrical with that of English in Canada and, likewise, with the situation of anglophone and francophone minorities”. Even the Prime Minister said in 2020: “[F]or Canada to be bilingual, Quebec must first and foremost be francophone.” Is that still what the Minister of Official Languages thinks?
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Context: House Hansard - 63 - May/3/22
Hon. Ginette Petitpas Taylor (Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, Lib.)
  • May/3/22 3:00:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I said repeatedly, protecting and promoting French are a top priority for this government and a priority for me as Minister of Official Languages. We are the first government to recognize that French is in decline in Canada including in Quebec. Once again, that is why we are moving forward with a new version of the official languages bill. Again, I hope the opposition members will help us pass this bill as quickly as possible.
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