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Decentralized Democracy

Member of Parliament

Martin Champoux

  • Member of Parliament
  • Member of Parliament
  • Bloc Québécois
  • Drummond
  • Quebec
  • Voting Attendance: 68%
  • Expenses Last Quarter: $108,134.67

  • Government Page
Context: House Hansard - 171 - Mar/22/23
Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)
  • Mar/22/23 3:02:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is exactly what the National Assembly feared when it unanimously criticized Ms. Elghawaby's appointment. She is not using her position to build bridges, to foster understanding between Muslim and non-Muslim communities, or to fight racism. Ms. Elghawaby is using her position to rally Canada against Quebec's Bill 21 and to feed assumptions that a secular state is a discriminatory one. Is she straying from her mandate, or was this exactly what the Prime Minister intended when he created the position?
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Context: House Hansard - 144 - Dec/8/22
Mr. Martin Champoux (Drummond, BQ)
  • Dec/8/22 7:03:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to say that it is an honour to rise to speak to Motion No. 63, which seeks to condemn anti-Asian racism and address it. I know that this motion is very important to many members of the House, and rightly so. I congratulate the member for Scarborough North for moving this motion. I know that a similar version of this motion was tabled last year at the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage by our colleague from Don Valley North. This is also particularly important to our colleague from Vancouver East, who I believe also wanted to move this motion. First, I think it is obvious that we cannot be against apple pie. I often say this. We naturally support a motion that seeks to condemn racism and also to prevent it and raise awareness about it. I can confirm that the Bloc Québécois supports Motion No. 63. We will condemn all forms of hate speech and hate crimes in the strongest possible terms, at every opportunity and as often as necessary. I would also point out that Asian people in Canada were racially segregated from the 19th century until after the Second World War. It took us a long time to wake up. There were all sorts of discriminatory laws and policies. Some policies were aimed at exclusion. Asian people are still the target of hate crimes today. In recent years, there has been a notable increase in the frequency of race-based harassment and attacks. This especially true since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone applauds and everyone agrees when anti-racism policies are brought in. That makes perfect sense, but there is one pitfall to watch out for. It is important not to exclude any form of racism. Policies must be implemented in a way that does not exclude any group that might be discriminated against. I ask this question in all earnestness. We wholeheartedly support this motion, but should Canada not have a strong general policy that condemns all forms of racism and raises awareness of all forms of racism, regardless of the group targeted? I do not mind doing this work bit by bit. Today we are condemning anti-Asian racism. If another member moves a motion to condemn another form of racism or racism that targets another group, we will surely support that too. However, sooner or later, we have to acknowledge our history and learn from it. We need to implement something comprehensive that covers all forms of discrimination. I will read the motion: That, in the opinion of the House: (a) the government should (i) condemn anti-Asian hate and all forms of racism and racial discrimination, (ii) ensure all anti-racism policies and programs address the historical and present-day racism, discrimination, stereotyping and injustices faced by people of Asian descent, (iii) highlight the lived realities of racism and barriers to inclusion experienced by people of Asian descent in national consultations on issues of anti-Asian racism; and (b) the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security should conduct a review of anti-Asian hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents across the country. Earlier I talked about this country's history of deliberately discriminatory and racist policies against people of Asian origin, including those who were Canadian citizens. In the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century, particularly in British Columbia but, really, across Canada, there was opposition to Japanese and Asian immigration in general. Thousands of people came from Asia to Canada to help build the railroad. It was an historic event, and we are extremely grateful to them. How did Canada thank them for their contribution to building the Canadian Pacific Railway? It brought in laws against Chinese immigration. It denied them certain privileges, including the right to vote. It denied them certain basic rights, such as the right to housing. It allowed some landlords to refuse to rent to people of Asian descent. In 1872, British Columbia passed an election law that prohibited Japanese Canadian citizens and indigenous people from voting in the province's elections. One would think the rest of the country would rise up against this, but no, that did not happen. In 1920, the Dominion Elections Act was passed, which meant that racial groups who were disenfranchised at the provincial level were now also disenfranchised at the federal level. When policies are put in place, they should be designed to last. They should be drafted with the future in mind; they must be strong and robust. We do not want to encounter a situation or climate at some point in the future where a desire to revive these horrible discriminatory policies comes back into the equation or is considered. I will not dwell on the dark chapters of the Second World War, when the decision was made to intern Japanese-Canadian citizens. I will also not dwell on how they were expropriated and sent back to Japan when, quite often, those people were born here. History is rife with these types of examples. As I said before, it is important to remember history and to learn from it. One such example was COVID‑19. Before that, however, in 2003, there was the SARS outbreak and people of Asian origin were subject to a dramatic increase in racist comments and even hate crimes. During the first year of the COVID‑19 pandemic, in 2019-20, the Vancouver police reported a 700% increase in hate crimes against the Asian community. My colleague from Vancouver East is certainly aware of those statistics. That happened because of the misinformation and mistaken notions going around about the origin of the virus. In closing, I would say that, in Quebec, we are fighting against hate and racism. We are working to break down stereotypes originating from old Canadian laws that are racist, restrictive and segregationist. We are doing it by stressing the equality of citizens of all origins and by focusing on the shared identity and the feeling of belonging to the Quebec nation of Quebeckers of all origins. We will sincerely and enthusiastically support Motion No. 63. It is a big step. It is also important because it recognizes a phenomenon we must condemn and combat. I hope this snowballs. I hope we will see more motions like it. Once again, I congratulate my colleague from Scarborough North on his initiative and on this motion.
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