CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 143 Ï NUMBER 004 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 40th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Friday, November 21, 2008 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) Also available on the Parliament of Canada Web Site at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 97 HOUSE OF COMMONS Friday, November 21, 2008 The House met at 10 a.m. Some hon. members: Agreed. (Motion agreed to) Prayers APPOINTMENT OF ASSISTANT DEPUTY CHAIR The Speaker: I am now prepared to propose for the ratification of Ï (1000) the House a candidate for the position of Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole. [English] [Translation] COMMITTEES OF THE WHOLE APPOINTMENT OF CHAIR Pursuant to Standing Order 8, I propose Mr. Barry Devolin for the The Speaker: Before we proceed with orders of the day I have an position of Assistant Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole. important matter to deal with. [English] [Translation] This motion is deemed moved and seconded. Is it the pleasure of After my election as Speaker, I consulted the leaders of the the House to adopt the motion? recognized parties about the appointment of the other chair occupants. I am prepared to propose for the ratification of the Some hon. members: Agreed. House a candidate for the position of Deputy Speaker of the House (Motion agreed to) and Chair of Committees of the Whole. Ï (1005) [English] The Speaker: I thank all hon. members for their assistance in this Pursuant to Standing Order 7, I propose Mr. Andrew Scheer for matter. the position of Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committees of the Whole. Before debate resumes I see one of my colleagues is here. I This motion is deemed moved and seconded. congratulate him on his election to the post of Assistant Deputy [Translation] Chair of Committees of the Whole and I wish the other two the very best on this happy occasion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? Some hon. members: Agreed. (Motion agreed to) SPEECH FROM THE THRONE [English] [Translation] APPOINTMENT OF DEPUTY CHAIR The Speaker: I am now prepared to propose for the ratification of RESUMPTION OF DEBATE ON ADDRESS IN REPLY the House a candidate for the position of Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole. The House resumed from November 20 consideration of the motion for an address to Her Excellency the Governor General in [Translation] reply to her speech at the opening of the session, of the amendment Pursuant to Standing Order 8, I propose Ms. Denise Savoie for the and of the amendment to the amendment. position of Deputy Chair of Committees of the Whole. Mr. Luc Malo (Verchères—Les Patriotes, BQ): Mr. Speaker, I The motion is deemed moved and seconded. would like to congratulate you warmly on your re-election as [English] Speaker in this House, and would like to inform you that I will share my time with my newly elected colleague from Longueuil—Pierre- Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion? Boucher. 98 COMMONS DEBATES November 21, 2008 The Address First of all, I would like to sincerely and warmly thank all of the Quebec to develop and reach its full potential in a way that honours voters of the riding of Verchères—Les Patriotes for the great honour its values and promotes its national interests is for it to become an they have bestowed upon me by allowing me to represent them once independent nation. Nevertheless, the Bloc Québécois respects the again in this chamber. I would also like to thank all of the volunteers institutions and the democratic process established in this House. from the bottom of my heart. Some of them worked on my re- Out of respect for the majority mandate we received from election—with Lise Lavoie running the team of volunteers and Quebeckers, we have proposed a sub-amendment to the Speech Robert Laurent acting as official agent—but other volunteers stood from the Throne. up for ideas and proposals for each of the political parties that ran in Verchères—Les Patriotes and throughout Quebec. Today is Friday, and as the meeting begins, I would like to read it And now let us turn to the address in reply to the Speech from the to you. We proposed that the following be added: Throne. We had great expectations for this speech. Analysts, citizens, commentators and journalists all said that the Speech from the Throne would focus on the economy. Our retirees are worried that the House recognize that the Speech from the Throne is unanimously decried in Quebec because it reflects a Conservative ideology that was rejected by 78 per when they see their RRSPs shrinking because of the economic crisis cent of the Quebec nation on October 14 and that as a result the House denounce and the financial meltdown in full swing on all of the world's stock the fact that it does not respond to the consensus in Quebec respecting, for markets. Our workers are wondering if they will still have work in a instance, the legislation on young offenders, the repatriation to Quebec of powers few weeks or months and if the work stoppages, which are currently over culture and communications, the elimination of the federal spending power temporary, will continue much longer. We expected the Speech from and the maintenance of the existing system of securities regulation. the Throne to discuss this. But the Governor General was very vague and very unclear when it came to economic issues. The reality is that That being said, allow me to now put on my hat as Bloc anything related to social measures, anything that brings to mind the Québécois health critic to review what the throne speech had to say administration that was ousted on the other side of the border on about health. November 4, and anything that reminds us of the presidency that is coming to an end there, that is all still in the Speech from the Throne. The government is still singing the same tune. Since it was first elected in 2006, this government has been saying The reality is that the Speech from the Throne mirrors the that it respects the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. On page Conservative Party's election platform, a platform which, I should 13 of the throne speech, it says that the government will take creative remind the House, was overwhelmingly rejected in Quebec. measures to tackle major heart, lung and neurological diseases. That Ironically, on page 15 of the throne speech, we read, “Parliament kind of activity falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of Quebec and is Canada’s most important national institution. It is the only forum the provinces. Do I need to point out that Quebec and the provinces in which all Canadians, through their elected representatives, have a are responsible for health care? I will keep pointing it out in voice in the governance of the nation.” committee and in the House as long as I am here. Quebec and the provinces are perfectly capable of setting up programs that support Those words are ironic because the throne speech does not contain our citizens' health and wellness. The federal government's job is to any proposals put forward by all the political parties represented here enable Quebec and the provinces to discharge that responsibility in the House, and it certainly does not represent the values and properly through social transfers. interests that are important to Quebeckers. The Conservatives decided to pursue the same path they did during the last Parliament, remaining fixated on their dogmatic positions and their own guiding The throne speech also implies that the government will once principles. In fact, common sense, the common good and shared again introduce the Act to amend the Food and Drugs Act. I would values do not really have a place in those principles. Basically, the remind the government that there is still a great deal of work to do on law of numbers—and remember, the Conservatives have a minority this. Many witnesses were ready to appear before the committee —does not count. We saw this in the last Parliament. The House when the government decided, of its own volition—because the voted to adopt the Kyoto protocol. The Senate voted to adopt it and Prime Minister felt like it—to call an election. Before the election royal assent was given to ensure it was respected and enforced in call, individuals and interest groups were ready to testify before the Canada. This government ignored that fact, and I have a feeling that committee. Of course, we still have some reservations, as I what it says on page 15 of the Speech from the Throne is nothing mentioned in my speech in June. more than empty rhetoric to impress certain people who are not aware of what happened here. Progressive licensing, the government's proposed registration In contrast—and this has always been our way of thinking, since process and the whole issue of inspectors and inspections will have 1993—the Bloc Québécois evaluates policies issue by issue and to be reviewed and clarified. suggests practical, effective solutions for the government to implement. We hoped they would listen to us. Ï (1010) In the bill he introduced in the last parliament, the minister gave himself a great deal of discretionary power. I believe that there will The Bloc Québécois is a sovereignist party, a party whose mission need to be some clarification as to what he intends to do with that is to prove unequivocally to Quebeckers that the only way for discretionary power.