44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 4, 2022 02:00PM
- May/4/22 3:00:40 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the number one concern of the people of Papineau, of Louis-Saint-Laurent and across Canada is inflation and the ever-increasing cost of living. The latest inflation figure for Canada is 6.7%, which is unacceptable, especially since our French friends have a much better figure of 4.5%. Why is that? For one thing, the French government decided to freeze all tariffs.
As we know, the current government ignored this and increased the Liberal carbon tax on April 1. It is never too late to do the right thing. Will the Prime Minister stand up and tell the people of Papineau and all Canadians that he will freeze all tariffs?
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- May/4/22 3:26:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, there are a thousand good ways to attack an opponent and there is no need to choose the wrong one.
Unfortunately, during question period, the member for Pontiac made statements that were unfair and untrue.
Many of us members from Quebec applauded the response yesterday from the Deputy Prime Minister. Some, like me, commented publicly. Others, like the member for Richmond—Arthabaska, made comments on social media.
We all know the rules of Parliament. We know that we cannot state the opposite of the truth. Since individuals here have expressed support for the Deputy Prime Minister's comments, I believe the member for Pontiac was mistaken. I urge her to act with the dignity befitting her position.
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- May/4/22 10:39:58 p.m.
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Madam Chair, as we say in my riding of Louis‑Saint‑Laurent and in Wendake, kwe.
Like most of my colleagues here this evening, I am participating in this very important debate about what the government and Canadians must do to address violence against indigenous women and about the measures that are needed to break this despicable, vicious circle for the country and more specifically for indigenous women. These kinds of debates are necessary.
My riding is home to the Huron-Wendat community. It always makes me smile to think about how lucky I am, because we cannot choose our family or our birthplace, as everyone knows, but I was very fortunate on both counts.
My parents came to Canada in 1958, and in 1962 they moved to what was then known as Château‑d'Eau, which then became Loretteville and is now part of Quebec City. It was less than a mile away from the indigenous community of Wendake. I grew up and still live in Loretteville, so I have some very good, very close Wendat friends. These friends are and will always be lifelong friends. I therefore grew up with an awareness of the first nations. We should all have this awareness of the first nations, but it will never be deep enough.
It is not easy to fix 400 years' worth of damage, yet that is the reality of indigenous relations with the federal and provincial governments. It has been 400 years of misunderstandings, of battles, of totally unacceptable domination and, in many cases, that is what we are facing now, in the 21st century.
We must understand that we can never do enough to erase, or at the very least lessen, the pain caused over the centuries. The reality is that we must take action but, more importantly, we must reflect and understand what happened.
At the start of the 21st century, there was an awareness that dawned. It has always been there in Canada. No matter who held the title of prime minister, there was always a gesture or a thought, sometimes positive, sometimes abhorrent, but there was also a desire to be honest with first nations at times.
We must recognize that it was the late Jack Layton, the former leader of the NDP, whose passing we all lament, who took the first concrete step that led to today's recognition of the tragedy of indigenous women who have fallen victim to appalling violence.
In the early 2000s, Jack Layton suggested that the Canadian government should formally apologize for the tragedy of residential schools and the crimes that took place there, which led to the totally unacceptable abuse that was most recently condemned by the Holy Father himself.
Canada's prime minister at the time, the Right Hon. Stephen Harper, listened to Jack Layton. For the first time in Canada's history, the federal government offered a formal and sincere apology to first nations. It was the first and only time that a grand chief of the Canadian first nations ever addressed the members of the House of Commons, and it happened right here in Ottawa on June 11, 2008.
There was an apology, and there was action. The government created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission because there can be no reconciliation without facts and truth. That is why, over a long period of six years, Canadians travelled the country listening to first nations.
When I first entered politics as a member of Quebec's National Assembly, I clearly remember being at the meeting in Wendake. It lasted several days, but I was only there for a day. I should maybe have stayed longer. The participants could see and understand the pain these people were carrying.
In 2015, the commission released its report, which contained almost 100 recommendations and suggestions. One of them, call to action 41, was for the Canadian government to take action on the tragedy of indigenous women who were beaten, raped, assaulted or killed. We all know what happened next. The government waited two years before coming up with a plan.
As I said in my introduction, we can never do enough because fixing 400 years' worth of damage is almost impossible. We have to start by accepting that unfortunate reality.
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- May/4/22 10:46:00 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to pay my respects to my colleague, who represents so much with such passion and such dignity her people here in the House of Commons. It is a privilege to have a member like her here in the House who serves so well the community, but also the country.
Indeed, we need action, but those actions will not come from here, the House of Commons, and especially not from a guy like me, but first and foremost from people like the member and the first nations, because first nations are part of the solution to that. If we think that only here in the House of Commons we can achieve something, it is just something that would start. If we want real, strong results, they will be coming from the first nations.
As a guy who grew up so close to a first nation community, I can assure members that we have to work hand in hand. That is exactly what happened for almost 400 years in Wendake in Quebec City. Yes, we can get inspiration from this great example.
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- May/4/22 10:47:48 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to commend my colleague. He worked in Montreal for several years, which means he speaks impeccable French. I thank him. He is an inspiration to us all.
I think he has once again put his finger on a situation that does not have an easy solution when it comes to the first nations.
There are communities like Wendake back home that are literally embedded in an urban city like Quebec City. However, there are other so‑called remote communities, although I find it pejorative to call them remote, as though we were at the centre and people who are not at the centre are remote. As far as I know, the remoteness is just as far as the centre. People who live in so-called remote areas could say that the people living downtown are remote. They would all be correct to say so.
The reality is that if we want to provide proper and appropriate services to first nations, we must consider the fact that these communities are not located in urban centres. We must provide services to ensure that the assistance we want to offer is made available appropriately and promptly in light of the daily reality of these first nations.
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- May/4/22 10:49:21 p.m.
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Madam Chair, although it has unfortunately taken 400 years for us to engage in this reflection, let us hope that concrete action will be taken in the years to come with the support and co-operation of first nations.
It is not up to people like me, the son of an immigrant, to say what is good for first nations. Instead we should be listening to what first nations want and what they want to do, and then we should provide the support required so that we can all look ahead to a bright future.
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