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Luc Thériault

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
Bloc Québécois

Montcalm
Quebec
Voting Attendance: 64%
Expenses Last Quarter: $126,025.95

Government Page

Feb/9/23 5:13:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I will try to remain calm even though I heard arguments throughout the day that really betray ignorance. When a human community established within the same territory has language, culture and heritage, when it is animated by a collective conscience and a desire to go down in history, and when all members of the community are on board with a common enterprise, that is called a nation. The House of Commons claims to recognize the Quebec nation. The Quebec nation, via the people's elected representatives who make up its parliament, the National Assembly, democratically passed Bill 21 and Bill 96. The Canadian Constitution says that a parliament must be above governments. However, the Liberals currently in the House seem inclined toward the judicialization of politics. They lack courage and would rather refer the debate to the courts to decide in the people's stead. In the last election, the people of Quebec re-elected the 90 members of the government that introduced and passed these laws. Where, then, is the democratic deficit?

175 words

Context: House Hansard - 157 - Feb/9/23

Mr. Luc Thériault (Montcalm, BQ)

Feb/9/23 5:10:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I heard my colleague say that we had better things to do than to talk about the notwithstanding clause. However, I would point out to him that the notwithstanding clause ensures two things for the Quebec nation and the Quebec National Assembly: the separation of church and state, in the case of Bill 101, and the continued existence of the French language, thanks to Bill 96. On behalf of a nation that intends on passing the test of time, I want give my colleague the chance to reconsider his words because if he still maintains that it is a lost cause for Quebeckers, I want to make sure that he and his party face the political consequences of their position in Quebec.

126 words

Context: House Hansard - 157 - Feb/9/23

Mr. Luc Thériault (Montcalm, BQ)

Feb/9/23 4:25:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to know what my colleague thinks about one of the greatest minds in multiculturalism, Will Kymlicka. Regarding the Quebec nation and its desire to have access to certain tools, such as the notwithstanding clause, Kymlicka wrote: “Had Quebec not been guaranteed these substantial powers—and hence protected from the possibility of being outvoted on key issues by the larger anglophone population—it is certain that Quebec either would not have joined Canada in 1867 or would have seceded sometime thereafter.”

89 words

Context: House Hansard - 157 - Feb/9/23

Mr. Luc Thériault

Feb/9/23 4:11:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, yes, I have a point of order. Since you mentioned it, I would urge you to ensure fairness and respect the rotation. Earlier, you twice recognized, twice in a row, an NDP member when it was our turn to speak. You also recognized the NDP when it was the Conservatives' turn to speak. I urge you to respect the rotation as soon as people stand up to indicate that they want to speak.

76 words

All Topics

Context: House Hansard - 157 - Feb/9/23

Mr. Luc Thériault (Montcalm, BQ)

Feb/9/23 4:04:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, first of all, I think the minister should not start a debate on that topic. It is a diversion. It is unnecessary. He is a Quebecker. The choice belongs to him. To be a Quebecker is a political choice and it is not the same as looking like a Quebecker. I suggest to him a book by Michael Mandel, a professor of constitutional law at York University in Toronto, The Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Judicialization of Politics in Canada, written in the 1990s. If he has read the book, I do not think he understood it. The same applies to the member for Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier. Now, I would like to say that I almost stood up earlier to raise a question of privilege, because the minister is misleading the House. The Bloc motion calls for recognition of the Act respecting the Constitution Act, 1982, René Lévesque's law, which pre-emptively introduced the notwithstanding clause into all Quebec laws. This is what—

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Member of Parliament

Luc Thériault