44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 3, 2022 10:00AM
- Nov/3/22 10:28:13 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his concern for the well‑being of veterans. It is indeed very important.
I would like to know whether my colleague is aware that claims from francophone veterans take much longer to be processed than claims from anglophone veterans. I get the impression that Bloc MPs are the only ones who care about this. I hope that is not the case.
I would like my colleague's opinion on this scandalous situation that makes no sense and has been denounced by my colleague from Rivière-des-Mille-Îles.
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- Nov/3/22 10:28:54 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I completely agree with my colleague on the delays in service for francophone veterans.
There is no doubt. It has been very clear that francophones are, in fact, receiving even worse service than anglophones.
I will condemn that, but even more importantly, I will condemn the fact that the government is leaving veterans out in the cold. It is leaving them to wait for two years, in many cases, to even get their benefit applications processed. That is completely unacceptable, and the Liberal government should be ashamed of itself for the way it is treating our veterans and our veterans' families.
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- Nov/3/22 11:22:21 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the work that he does on behalf of veterans. I know we all care very much about this particular file.
I have to ask if the member is aware that there is a dedicated unit for the issue of francophone veterans who are coming back. There has been a significant increase in support in francophone areas, as well as a dedicated unit. Is he familiar with that? What are his thoughts on that dedicated unit, if he is aware of it?
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- Nov/3/22 12:10:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois is very aware of the issues facing the French language. The hon. member for Rivière‑des‑Mille‑Îles, our veterans affairs critic, has taken up the fight and has often spoken about the major inequities between francophone and anglophone veterans, including the fact that francophones' files are shelved and nothing is done about them.
I would like to know whether my colleague also condemns this, and whether he thinks it is acceptable for there to be two ways of doing things in this country, the fast way for anglophones and the slow way for francophones.
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- Nov/3/22 12:11:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for bringing this important advocacy to the attention of the House.
It is important that we understand that, often in Canada's history, francophones have been discriminated against not only in veterans affairs but often in other social programs for which they are eligible. This is part of a systemic problem not only in this place but also in local legislatures across the country, which continue to grapple with the promotion and protection of francophones.
I am in solidarity with the member from the Bloc Québécois who is raising this important point. Francophone veterans do deserve the same level of respect and access to programs that they deserve.
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- Nov/3/22 12:25:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the government has been setting targets for francophone immigration outside Quebec since 2004, but in all that time, it has never achieved those targets.
In its response to a committee report, the government admitted that there was racism within IRCC and, as a result, students from francophone African countries have been treated inequitably. In the matter before us today, it is pretty clear that francophone veterans are discriminated against compared to anglophone veterans.
Will the government admit, once and for all, that it does not care about the French fact in Canada?
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- Nov/3/22 12:40:38 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am pleased to see my colleague's list of agencies that are helping seniors across Canada.
That being said, in Quebec City there is another organization: le Repos du soldat. It is requesting a parcel of land that belongs to the Department of National Defence, a department that gave land to an anglophone school in a city that is 97% francophone.
Why is an anglophone school in a francophone community getting preference over our veterans?
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- Nov/3/22 2:26:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that, for the Bloc Québécois, immigrants are reduced to numbers, statistics and percentages. We are talking about men, women and children.
I have said it before, and I will say it again: Quebec already has full authority to welcome as many immigrants as it wants, all of them francophone, if it wants.
I have a question for the Bloc. If Quebec welcomes 70,000 people who speak French, 70,000 francophones, how many will require French language lessons?
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Mr. Speaker, we invited experts way back in February to talk to us about official languages. Together, the government and the NDP decided to cancel over 30 expert witnesses, including important groups such as the Maison de l'alphabétisation du Québec, a literacy advocacy group, and the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, a group dedicated to protecting and promoting the French language, as well as francophone school boards in Ontario, British Columbia and Acadia, the Université de Moncton and the Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick, New Brunswick's association of French-speaking jurists.
Why—
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Mr. Speaker, we invited experts way back in February to talk to us about official languages. Together, the government and the NDP decided to cancel over 30 expert witnesses, including important groups such as the Fondation pour l'alphabétisation, a literacy foundation, and the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste, a group dedicated to protecting and promoting the French language, as well as francophone school boards in Ontario, British Columbia and Acadia, the Université de Moncton and the Association des juristes d'expression française du Nouveau-Brunswick, New Brunswick's association of French-speaking jurists.
Why is the voice of these people suddenly not important enough to warrant the attention of the Liberals and the NDP?
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