SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 238

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 24, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 238 - Oct/24/23
Mr. Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'Île, BQ)
  • Oct/24/23 2:16:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, once again, the Liberals refused to acknowledge the decline of French in Quebec and Canada. However, Canada's census provides the relevant figures. From 2016 to 2021, the percentage of francophones in Canada, based on the first official language spoken, dropped from 22.2% to 21.4%. The percentage of Quebeckers who speak mainly French at home dropped from 79% to 77.5%. In the workplace, it slipped from 81.9% in 2011 to 79.7%. Those are the facts. Any denial of the facts by the government or by its Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship is a political denial. Clearly, the only way to reverse the decline of French is for Quebec to have exclusive authority over its language policy. It is equally clear that the best way to achieve that is to make Quebec a country.
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Context: House Hansard - 238 - Oct/24/23
Mr. Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'Île, BQ)
  • Oct/24/23 5:00:41 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-57 
Mr. Speaker, we know that Parliament and elected representatives have a very limited ability to modify the agreement. All we can do is vote for the bill or propose amendments, but we cannot change the agreement itself. In most industrialized countries, however, elected representatives can participate in and directly influence free trade agreements and treaties. I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on that.
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Context: House Hansard - 238 - Oct/24/23
Mr. Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'Île, BQ)
  • Oct/24/23 5:18:37 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-57 
Mr. Speaker, I would like to hear my colleague's thoughts on two points. First, as with other free trade agreements, it is the executive branch that acts alone. Elected representatives and opposition members do not have direct access to the chapters or any direct influence on the content of the agreement. What does my colleague think? Would she agree with the idea of coming up with another mechanism? Second, the chapter on investments still allows for an investor, a multinational, to sue a state directly. Since these are international agreements, they are supposed to be agreements between nations. However, it is as though multinationals are being put on the same footing as nations. Does my colleague not think that this should be changed?
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