Hansard 33 1..134

CANADA House of Commons Debates VOLUME 137 Ï NUMBER 084 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 37th PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Monday, September 24, 2001 Speaker: The Honourable Peter Milliken CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) All parliamentary publications are available on the ``Parliamentary Internet Parlementaire´´ at the following address: http://www.parl.gc.ca 5457 HOUSE OF COMMONS Monday, September 24, 2001 The House met at 11 a.m. There are two nations in Canada; there are two national histories. We should also add the aboriginal perspective of history. Each of Prayers these versions places the emphasis on different aspects of historical events and figures. For example, one side of the Ottawa River celebrates Victoria Day while the other celebrates Dollard des Ormeaux. PRIVATE MEMBERS' BUSINESS Ï (1100) Let us take the example of Confederation, which the bill describes [Translation] as the major accomplishment of J.A. Macdonald. Everyone knows that Macdonald would have preferred a legislative union that would SIR JOHN A. MACDONALD AND THE SIR WILFRID have made Canada a unitary state, and that he made sure that LAURIER DAY ACT Canadian federation would be highly centralized. The House resumed from June 7, 2001 consideration of the motion that Bill S-14, an act respecting Sir John A. Macdonald Day In fact Macdonald championed the federal idea, and not the and Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day, be read the second time and referred to a confederal idea as people wanted to have it believed, in order to committee. attract the maritime provinces and to overcome the strong Ms. Christiane Gagnon (Québec, BQ): Mr. Speaker, I would reservations expressed by Quebec. Moreover, despite promises to like to speak to the bill respecting Sir John A. Macdonald Day and the contrary, the British North America Act was never voted on in a Sir Wilfrid Laurier Day. I find it somewhat curious that a Liberal referendum. Even if the Quebecers supported Macdonald's party in member tabled this bill in the House, yet their Minister of the November 1867 election, this must not lead us to conclude that Intergovernmental Affairs is unable to provide his support to the they backed his vision of Canada. Bending the truth, the newspaper Bloc Quebecois to recognize the importance of the deportation of the La Minerve, a propaganda toolyes, propaganda is nothing new Acadians. presented the partners of Confederation as sovereign states delegating part of their rights and powers to a so-called central We, in the Bloc Quebecois, are not afraid of calling attention to government. What an appealing notion, a partnership between this great historic mistake because we are not afraid of learning from sovereign states. That is what the people of Quebec thought they the past. Indeed, there are a host of reasons why it would be were embarking on. inappropriate for us to support the bill tabled before us this morning. The wording alone indicates that one of the reasons to celebrate the birth of Wilfrid Laurier is because of the fact that he was an ardent Not everyone was taken in, however. Let us keep in mind that supporter of national unity. To which national unity does this refer? there was the Parti des rougesyes, the party to which Wilfrid Laurier belongedwhich opposed confederation. In May 1867, For us, Canadian unity, and all that has been done in its name, Laurier wrote as follows in his newspaper Le Défricheur: represents the main obstacle to Quebec's development. In Quebec, national unity, in the sense of preserving the current federal system, We must return completely and directly to the politics of Mr. Papineau, protest is not the political objective that transcends all others. Rather, it is with all our might against the new order that has been imposed on us and use more of a problem for Quebecers. For sovereignists like us, the whatever influence we have left to demand and obtain a free and separate answers are to be found elsewhere. government. Over and above our constitutional opinion, however, there are numerous reasons the federal parliament ought not to get involved in Of course, after 1867, Wilfrid Laurier ended up playing the game historical commemoration. First of all, we must be forearmed against and became a supporter of the Canadian system. He was Prime the temptation of having an official and politically oriented history, Minister for 15 consecutive years and continued the work of by not giving the Canadian government the opportunity to use Macdonald. Yet, is the legacy of these two men unsullied? Talk to history to political ends. Who would be in charge of the celebrations, those Franco-Manitobans still left. Manitoba might have become the if not Canadian Heritage, a department that ensures that everything it model of a Canada where the two peoples, anglophone and lays hands on sends out a message of Canadian unity? francophone, could live together side by side. 5458 COMMONS DEBATES September 24, 2001 Private Members' Business There was also the hanging of Louis Riel that Prime Minister Some will perhaps wonder what we have to gain by setting aside Macdonald could have prevented, and the elimination of educational the birthdays of these two men as special days. The answer is a rights of the francophones that another Prime Minister, Wilfrid simple one. Laurier, did not have the courage to stop. It is unfortunate that the Prime Minister is a French Canadian, he said to his friend and If there is one thing that we have learned from the tragic events of former colleague, Henri Bourassa, because as a French Canadian I recent days, it is that as Canadians we cannot and must not take for do things I would never do were I English. granted everything that we have. Ï (1105) If we pass Bill S-14, we will send a message to all, to current and This is why in today's Canada 19 francophones out of 20 live in future generations of Canadians, that we keep in our collective mind Quebec. This was what fate had in store for these two peoples. the memory of Canada's first Prime Minister and first French speaking Prime Minister. Why should the Government of Canada stop at honouring just these two Prime Ministers with a special day? However, the legacy We will thus show our commitment to celebrate their contribu- of the greatest Prime Ministers is just as controversial. tions to Canada, as well as the values and principles on which these contributions are based. We will also show that we are not prepared Let us take Robert Borden and Mackenzie King, who imposed to take our heritage for granted. conscription during the two world wars in the 20th century. There is Louis Saint-Laurent, who oversaw the construction of the St. Lawrence seaway, the first of a series of federal decisions that In a world that is increasingly based on global trade, technology drained Montreal's prosperity away toward Ontario. I refer to the and communications, we are constantly at risk of losing sight of our auto pact and the Borden line, which put Ontario at the heart of Canadian identity. And this risk will be even greater as we face the Canada's automobile and petrochemical industries. challenges of the 21st century. In trying to meet these challenges, we can build on the examples of Sir John A. Macdonald and Sir Wilfrid When we think about it, it is a good idea to recall history. It Laurier, who were men of great value. reminds us more clearly why there is a sovereignist opposition in Ottawa. At times we may think that our problems are insurmountable and we may also be tempted to lose faith in our ability as a nation to In Quebec, we would have a lot of other great individuals to overcome the obstacles before us. commemorate. They include Samuel de Champlain, Garagonthié, Marie Gérin-Lajoie, Henri Bourassa, Norman Bethune, Thérèse But we could certainly put things in perspective by pointing out Casgrain, Gaston Miron and many others. There would not be the innumerable difficulties faced by John A. Macdonald, Wilfrid enough dates on the calendar to celebrate all our great men and Laurier and the other Fathers of Confederation when they were women. This is certainly true for the rest of Canada, and we respect trying to turn a beautiful dream into reality, that is to build a country, that. But it is not our history. to build Canada. For all these reasons and despite the respect Quebecers feel for past heroes of the Dominion of Canada, the Bloc Quebecois has It is also important to remember some of the other great decided to oppose this bill. achievements of John A. Macdonald, this great Canadian, including the building of Canada's first national railway, the Intercolonial Ï (1110) Railway.This monumental project helped build the infrastructure Mr. Marcel Proulx (HullAylmer, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, a few required to settle the western Canada, develop our economy and days ago, we witnessed the tragic and horrible events that took place strengthen our national identity. in the United States, and we were all profoundly shocked. It was a painful nightmare for each one of us. Sir Wilfrid Laurier's contributions were different, but just as important. His immigration policy helped create and define our It is not my intention to speak about the terrorists' attacks and their current society. repercussions. However, this recent terrible tragedy brought home to us only too vividly that which we hold most dear: our country, our A staunch protector of national unity, he believed that both freedoms, and our values as Canadians, our way of life.

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