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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 160

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 14, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 160 - Feb/14/23
Mr. Rhéal Fortin (Rivière-du-Nord, BQ)
  • Feb/14/23 2:37:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am going to talk about the notwithstanding clause, the only bit of autonomy that the Constitution guarantees Quebec and the provinces. It was the compromise that Prime Minister Trudeau senior came up with so that the provinces would agree to his Constitution, which, by the way, was never signed by Quebec. The notwithstanding clause gives Quebec and the provinces the right to make different societal choices without having them overturned by the courts or the federal government. Yesterday, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau's son's Liberals and the NDP voted against that right. Why is it that the Liberals and the NDP think that any little bit of autonomy for Quebec and the provinces is too much?
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Context: House Hansard - 160 - Feb/14/23
Mr. Rhéal Fortin (Rivière-du-Nord, BQ)
  • Feb/14/23 2:39:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it seems complicated and difficult. Maybe my colleague should reread the Constitution, or perhaps read it for the first time. Nowhere in section 33 does it say that the notwithstanding clause represents the first or the last word. It is exclusively up to Quebec and the provinces. That is written in black and white. Therein lies the rub for the Liberals and the NDP. The notwithstanding clause guarantees in black and white that certain decisions can be made by governments other than the federal government, without having to ask its permission. Is the real problem with the notwithstanding clause the fact that the Liberals do not get the last word?
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Context: House Hansard - 160 - Feb/14/23
Mr. Rhéal Fortin (Rivière-du-Nord, BQ)
  • Feb/14/23 2:40:30 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the notwithstanding clause has basically only been used by Quebec, in order to protect and promote our national language and our unique values. It is no coincidence that the Liberals and the NDP are attacking it today. They want to contest Bill 96, which protects French in Quebec, and Bill 21, which protects state secularism. They want to prevent Quebec from tabling any other legislation that they do not agree with. The real problem is that Quebec is different and the notwithstanding clause allows it to live differently. Is that not what the Liberal government's real problem is?
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