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Decentralized Democracy

Leader of the Bloc Québécois

Yves-François Blanchet

  • Member of Parliament
  • Leader of the Bloc Québécois
  • Bloc Québécois
  • Beloeil—Chambly
  • Quebec
  • Voting Attendance: 56%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $98,385.23

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 195 - May/11/23
Mr. Yves-François Blanchet
  • May/11/23 10:31:41 a.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am not sure we talked about reducing that number. I will jump right to the logical conclusion. In my opinion, Canada will do whatever it wants. If Canada wants to divest itself of an entity that is already weakened by its proximity to a cultural giant that swallows up all its differences, then that is Canada's business. If Canada wants to give up anything else that is Canadian, such as the Crown, the flag, the name of the country and a multiculturalism that dilutes everything, then that is Canada's business. The question has an easy answer. Canada can do its own thing and Quebec will too.
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Context: House Hansard - 100 - Sep/22/22
Mr. Yves-François Blanchet (Beloeil—Chambly, BQ)
  • Sep/22/22 3:40:23 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, I can proudly say that I am the only party leader in the House to have donned skates prior to 1972. That said, I was not particularly good. I clearly took a wrong turn somewhere. As we know, the Bloc Québécois has always defended Quebec's identity. Quebec and Canada are two different nations, with different values and, often, different ways of doing things. We defend the right to live in French, the common and official language of the Quebec nation and even of certain locker rooms, at times. We do not identify with multiculturalism. We prefer to change the topic when the British monarchy comes up in conversation. The only dynasties we like are the ones in hockey. We have the Quebec civil code, we value clean energy, and we are committed to secularism. We are different. There are two different nations, but they come together from time to time. We often share interests and visions. Canada and Quebec are peace-loving. We prefer peace to war, words to weapons. We are democrats. We care about poverty, injustice and violence, and we look for solutions to help improve people's lives. Frankly, I think that Canadians and Quebeckers are good people. Most importantly, Quebeckers and Canadians share the unwavering belief that hockey is the greatest sport in the world. From Toe Blake to Maurice Richard, to Sidney Crosby and Marc-André Fleury, not to mention the great Guy Lafleur, Mike Bossy and Doug Gilmour, Canadians and Quebeckers are, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the best hockey players in the world. I do not want to come across as pretentious, but we will keep it between us. I would even venture to say that Quebeckers are the best players, but we will share that honour today. In Quebec, we know how to play hockey. I would not include myself in that. Any time I or hundreds of thousands of Quebeckers my age scored a goal as a kid, we imagined being Guy Lafleur or, for those in Drummondville, Yvan Cournoyer. Any time we made a save, we pictured ourselves as Ken Dryden. Those are the names that inspire kids. We say we have the best players in the world, and there is no better proof than the Summit Series. On one side was our team, represented by the men we have the honour of welcoming today. On the other, the Soviet superpower at the height of the Cold War. Against a backdrop of looming nuclear threat and fears of a third world war, the best of us went head to head against the best of them: Pete and Frank Mahovlich, Guy Lapointe, Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, Ken Dryden, Phil and Tony Esposito, Bobby Clarke and Rod Gilbert, to name just a few of the team's worthy and admirable members. Our team went up against the USSR, sworn enemy of the Western Bloc, denizens of the other side of the Iron Curtain. They could not lose. They lost. We were destined to win. We won. It was magical. The Summit Series symbolizes so many things. First of all, it is better to fight on the ice with a puck and sticks than on a battlefield. On that note, perhaps Mr. Putin should leave Ukraine alone. Things could be settled in a best of seven series. On top of that, the Summit Series reminded us that the Soviets were more than just our enemies. We learned that we can and, more importantly, we should, respect our adversaries. It was an extraordinary example of how sport contributed to the détente and the eventual end of the Cold War. The Berlin Wall likely started coming down as a result of the Summit Series. Lastly, we have to talk about Paul Henderson's goal. Paul Henderson scored the most beautiful goal ever scored by a grinder. You have Da Vinci's Mona Lisa, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and Paul Henderson's goal. Let us get back to our two nations. My esteemed colleague from Abitibi—Témiscamingue suggested a 21st century summit series, where Quebec would play Canada, national team against national team, in a friendly game. There will always be things that we want to do together once in a while. That is why, 50 years later, we have come together to say bravo and thank you. Thank you for the dream and thank you for proving that, with enough determination and courage, miracles do happen.
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