Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2024-04-09 19:05:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'\u00cele, BQ)",
        "fr": "M. Mario Beaulieu (La Pointe-de-l'\u00cele, BQ)"
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"8316480\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Madam Speaker, Bill <a data-HoCid=\"12545862\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-347/\" title=\"An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (oath of office)\">C-347</a> seeks to give members of Parliament and senators a choice regarding the oath they take. They can choose to swear allegiance to a foreign monarch, take the new oath of office or both. I want to commend the member for <a data-HoCid=\"278385\" href=\"/politicians/rene-arseneault/\" title=\"Ren\u00e9 Arseneault\">Madawaska\u2014Restigouche</a> for this bill. He is also the chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, of which I am one of the co-chairs.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316481\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Of course, the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois opposes any expression of this system of monarchism and its underlying philosophy. When a people does not know its history, it is a bit like when an individual has amnesia. It is important to remember the actions and decisions of the British monarchy, the deportation of the Acadians, and the horrors of the siege of Quebec and the Seven Years' War, which resulted in the death of 15% of the population of New France. It is also important to remember the military suppression of the Patriotes rebellion of 1837-38.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316482\" data-originallang=\"fr\">In the wake of the Durham report, England declared the union of Upper Canada and Lower Canada to assimilate the francophones and keep them in the minority. In the 19th century, in the name of the Queen of England, for the supremacy of the English race, the Anglo-Protestants pushed the provinces outside Quebec to ban all Catholic schools and any form of French teaching in the schools. In April 1982, Queen Elizabeth II came to Ottawa to give royal assent to the 1982 Constitution, which was an anti-Quebec and anti-Bill 101 constitutional power grab that has never been signed by any government of Quebec.<sup></sup><sup></sup></p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316483\" data-originallang=\"fr\">If we do not remember, as my colleague said, and if we do not learn from history, it will repeat itself. We see again today the Canadian government interfering in Quebec's jurisdictions to constantly impose and promote English. Some 94% of official languages funding goes to English-language institutions and interest groups in Quebec. The decline of French continues in Quebec and Canada.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316484\" data-originallang=\"fr\">The change established by Bill C-347 is also a significant democratic improvement, because in a democracy the collective will of the people is the source of political power. In a democracy, as the Patriotes used to say, elected officials serve the people and the laws. The people are the true source of sovereign power. It is only fitting that elected officials pledge their loyalty to their true sovereign, the people.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316485\" data-originallang=\"fr\">For the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, the reference to the Crown expresses a profoundly anti-democratic idea, namely that the Crown is the guarantor of democratic institutions and that the power of these institutions exists only by virtue of that of the Crown. The Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois rejects both royalism\u2014that is, loyalty to the individual person of the monarch\u2014and modern monarchism. Our political goal is to create a democratic Quebec republic.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316486\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Historically, Canada's institutions have retained characteristics specific to former monarchist regimes. This continues to have a major influence on the development of democracy in Quebec and Canada. Our head of state is the king of another country. We have an unelected Senate that exercises some of the legislative power. The recognition of peoples\u2019 right to self-determination has not been enshrined in our institutions. The Crown has repeatedly used executive powers. The prerogatives of the Crown are still present, written down in black and white. The tradition of the Crown not exercising its prerogatives can be broken, as it was in 2007. In Canada, the monarchy is the institution entrusted with the sovereignty and continuity of the state. Canada is an unfinished democracy, in large part because of its undemocratic institutions, the Crown and the Senate.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316487\" data-originallang=\"fr\">In a democratic republic, the people have sovereignty over their institutions and laws, including the foundational law, the Constitution. All legislators are elected and can be removed.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316488\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Fundamental freedoms are guaranteed, including freedom of religion and its corollary, the separation of church and state. As long as the suggested oath of office contains a reference to the Constitution and the Constitution enshrines the power of the Crown, this new oath is not completely free of monarchical references. Still, the absence of explicit reference is considered to be at least an improvement over previous versions.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316489\" data-originallang=\"fr\">That being said, the oath of office suggested by Bill <a data-HoCid=\"12545862\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-347/\" title=\"An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (oath of office)\">C\u2011347</a> may appear to be at odds with the founding principles of the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois and our political vision, namely Quebec's independence. Indeed, the oath commits the oath-taker to perform their duties in the best interests of Canada, a country we wish to leave, and in accordance with its Constitution, which was forcibly imposed on the people of Quebec and to which the state of Quebec has never subscribed. Nevertheless, it is easy to show that these two aspects, the best interests and the Constitution, are not contradictory to the political action of the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, because the new formula is an improvement. For the Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, it is in Canada's best interest that Quebec become an independent country.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316490\" data-originallang=\"fr\">The Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois is a democratic political party that respects the rule of law. Its political agenda is already carried out in compliance with the law and the Constitution. We believe that the current Canadian system fails to accurately reflect Canada's sociological reality. Canadian society is made up of nations: the English Canadian nation, the Quebec nation and all indigenous nations. Canadian multiculturalism defines the Canadian people as an aggregate of individual identities and cultural communities, with no regard for their national identity. Acadians, we must remember, are also a nation and a people.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316491\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Naturally, Quebec and the people of Quebec do not subscribe to this multicultural view, and the federalist camp has repeatedly failed to offer the people of Quebec an acceptable solution that would lead them to participate voluntarily in the Canadian federation. All attempts to bring the Quebec nation into the fold with honour and enthusiasm, as it was once said, have fallen by the wayside.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316492\" data-originallang=\"fr\">For all these reasons, the oath of office would enable Bloc Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois members to solemnly undertake to carry out their duties in the best interest of Canada.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316493\" data-originallang=\"fr\">We believe that as soon as Quebec becomes independent, it will give the other nations and peoples of Canada an opportunity to begin a new dialogue on the nature and components of their political ties. With that in mind, this bill is a small step in the right direction and constitutes a significant democratic improvement that would enable us to swear an oath more in line with our freedom of conscience.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"8316480\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Madame la Pr\u00e9sidente, le projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"12545862\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-347/\" title=\"An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (oath of office)\">C\u2011347</a> vise \u00e0 offrir aux d\u00e9put\u00e9s et aux s\u00e9nateurs un choix relatif \u00e0 leur serment. Ils peuvent choisir de pr\u00eater le serment d'all\u00e9geance \u00e0 un monarque \u00e9tranger, pr\u00eater le nouveau serment de fonction ou les deux. Je tiens \u00e0 saluer le d\u00e9put\u00e9 de <a data-HoCid=\"278385\" href=\"/politicians/rene-arseneault/\" title=\"Ren\u00e9 Arseneault\">Madawaska-Restigouche</a> pour ce projet de loi. Il est aussi pr\u00e9sident du Comit\u00e9 permanent des langues officielles dont je suis l'un des vice-pr\u00e9sidents.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316481\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Il est certain qu\u2019au Bloc qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, nous sommes oppos\u00e9s \u00e0 toute manifestation du monarchisme ainsi qu\u2019au fondement philosophique de ce syst\u00e8me. Pour un peuple, ne pas conna\u00eetre son histoire, c\u2019est comme \u00eatre amn\u00e9sique pour un individu. Il est important de se souvenir des actions et des d\u00e9cisions de la monarchie britannique, de se souvenir de la d\u00e9portation des Acadiens, des horreurs du si\u00e8ge de Qu\u00e9bec, de la guerre de Sept Ans qui a entra\u00een\u00e9 la mort de 15 % de la population de la Nouvelle\u2011France, de la r\u00e9pression militaire des patriotes de 1837\u20111838.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316482\" data-originallang=\"fr\">\u00c0 la suite du rapport Durham, l\u2019Angleterre a d\u00e9cr\u00e9t\u00e9 l\u2019union du Haut\u2011Canada et du Bas\u2011Canada pour assimiler et minoriser les francophones. Au XIX<sup>e</sup> si\u00e8cle et au XX<sup>e</sup> si\u00e8cle, au nom de la reine d\u2019Angleterre, les orangistes, pour la supr\u00e9matie de la race anglaise, ont pouss\u00e9 les provinces \u00e0 l\u2019ext\u00e9rieur du Qu\u00e9bec \u00e0 interdire toute \u00e9cole catholique et toute forme d\u2019enseignement du fran\u00e7ais dans les \u00e9coles. En avril 1982, la reine Elizabeth II est venue \u00e0 Ottawa accorder la sanction royale au coup de force constitutionnel anti-Qu\u00e9bec et anti-loi 101 qui a impos\u00e9 la Constitution de 1982, laquelle n\u2019a jamais \u00e9t\u00e9 sign\u00e9e par aucun gouvernement du Qu\u00e9bec. </p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316483\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Si on ne se souvient pas, comme mon coll\u00e8gue l\u2019a dit, et qu'on ne tire pas de le\u00e7ons de l\u2019histoire, elle se r\u00e9p\u00e8te. On voit encore aujourd\u2019hui le gouvernement canadien s'ing\u00e9rer dans les comp\u00e9tences du Qu\u00e9bec pour constamment imposer et favoriser l\u2019anglais. Il y a 94 % du financement des langues officielles qui est destin\u00e9 aux \u00e9tablissements et aux groupes de pression anglophones au Qu\u00e9bec. Le d\u00e9clin du fran\u00e7ais se poursuit au Qu\u00e9bec et au Canada.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316484\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Le changement \u00e9tabli par le projet de loi C\u2011347 constitue aussi une am\u00e9lioration d\u00e9mocratique significative, parce que la d\u00e9mocratie place l\u2019origine du pouvoir politique dans la volont\u00e9 collective des citoyens. En d\u00e9mocratie, comme le disaient les patriotes, les \u00e9lus sont au service du peuple et des lois. Le peuple est la v\u00e9ritable source du pouvoir souverain. Il est dans l\u2019ordre des choses que les \u00e9lus s\u2019engagent \u00e0 \u00eatre loyaux vers leur v\u00e9ritable souverain, le peuple.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316485\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Pour le Bloc qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, la r\u00e9f\u00e9rence \u00e0 la Couronne exprime une id\u00e9e profond\u00e9ment antid\u00e9mocratique, \u00e0 savoir que la Couronne est garante des institutions d\u00e9mocratiques et que le pouvoir de ces derni\u00e8res n\u2019existe qu\u2019en vertu de celui de la Couronne. Le Bloc qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois ne rejette pas seulement le royalisme, c\u2019est-\u00e0-dire la fid\u00e9lit\u00e9 \u00e0 la personne individuelle du monarque, mais aussi le monarchisme moderne. Notre projet politique est la fondation d\u2019une r\u00e9publique d\u00e9mocratique qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316486\" data-originallang=\"fr\"> Le Canada a conserv\u00e9 historiquement dans ses institutions des caract\u00e9ristiques propres aux anciens r\u00e9gimes monarchiques. Sur le d\u00e9veloppement de la d\u00e9mocratie au Qu\u00e9bec et au Canada, cela continue \u00e0 avoir une influence majeure. Notre chef d\u2019\u00c9tat est le roi d\u2019un autre pays. Nous avons un S\u00e9nat non \u00e9lu qui exerce une partie du pouvoir l\u00e9gislatif. La reconnaissance du droit \u00e0 l\u2019autod\u00e9termination des peuples n\u2019a pas \u00e9t\u00e9 inscrite dans les institutions. La Couronne a us\u00e9 \u00e0 plusieurs reprises de pouvoirs ex\u00e9cutifs. Les pr\u00e9rogatives de la Couronne sont toujours pr\u00e9sentes sur papier. La tradition selon laquelle la Couronne n\u2019exerce pas ses pr\u00e9rogatives peut \u00eatre rompue. Elle l\u2019a \u00e9t\u00e9 en 2007. Au Canada, la monarchie est l\u2019institution \u00e0 laquelle est confi\u00e9e la souverainet\u00e9 et la p\u00e9rennit\u00e9 de l\u2019\u00c9tat. Le Canada est une d\u00e9mocratie inachev\u00e9e, en grande partie \u00e0 cause de ses institutions non d\u00e9mocratiques que sont la Couronne et le S\u00e9nat.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316487\" data-originallang=\"fr\">En r\u00e9publique d\u00e9mocratique, la population est souveraine sur les institutions et les lois, incluant la loi fondamentale qu\u2019est la Constitution. Tous les l\u00e9gislateurs sont \u00e9lus et r\u00e9vocables.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316488\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Alors, les libert\u00e9s fondamentales sont garanties, incluant la libert\u00e9 de religion avec son corollaire, la s\u00e9paration de la religion et de l'\u00c9tat. Dans la mesure o\u00f9 le serment de fonction sugg\u00e9r\u00e9 contient une r\u00e9f\u00e9rence \u00e0 la Constitution et que la Constitution consacre le pouvoir de la Couronne, ce nouveau serment n'est pas compl\u00e8tement exempt de r\u00e9f\u00e9rences monarchiques. N\u00e9anmoins, on consid\u00e8re que l'absence de r\u00e9f\u00e9rence explicite constitue au moins une am\u00e9lioration par rapport aux versions ant\u00e9rieures.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316489\" data-originallang=\"fr\"> Cela \u00e9tant dit, le serment de fonction sugg\u00e9r\u00e9 par le projet de loi <a data-HoCid=\"12545862\" href=\"/bills/44-1/C-347/\" title=\"An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (oath of office)\">C\u2011347</a> pourrait en apparence sembler ne pas convenir aux principes fondateurs du Bloc qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois et \u00e0 notre projet politique, soit l'ind\u00e9pendance du Qu\u00e9bec. En effet, le serment intime celui qui le prononce \u00e0 exercer ses fonctions dans l'int\u00e9r\u00eat sup\u00e9rieur du Canada, un pays que nous souhaitons quitter, et dans le respect de sa Constitution, laquelle a \u00e9t\u00e9 impos\u00e9e de force au peuple du Qu\u00e9bec et \u00e0 laquelle l'\u00c9tat du Qu\u00e9bec n'a jamais souscrit. Il est n\u00e9anmoins facile de d\u00e9montrer que ces deux aspects, l'int\u00e9r\u00eat sup\u00e9rieur et la Constitution, ne sont pas contradictoires avec l'action politique du Bloc qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, parce que la nouvelle formule pr\u00e9sente une am\u00e9lioration. Pour le Bloc qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois, il est dans l'int\u00e9r\u00eat sup\u00e9rieur du Canada que le Qu\u00e9bec devienne un pays ind\u00e9pendant.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316490\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Le Bloc qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois est un parti politique d\u00e9mocratique qui respecte la r\u00e8gle du droit. Son action politique se d\u00e9ploie d\u00e9j\u00e0 dans le respect des lois et de la Constitution. Nous croyons que le r\u00e9gime canadien actuel refl\u00e8te mal la r\u00e9alit\u00e9 sociologique du Canada, alors que la soci\u00e9t\u00e9 canadienne est compos\u00e9e de nations: la nation canadienne-anglaise; la nation qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise; et toutes les nations autochtones. Le multiculturalisme canadien d\u00e9finit le peuple canadien comme un agr\u00e9gat d'identit\u00e9s individuelles et des communaut\u00e9s culturelles sans \u00e9gard \u00e0 leur composante nationale. Il ne faut pas oublier que les Acadiens sont aussi une nation et un peuple.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316491\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Le Qu\u00e9bec et le peuple qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois ne souscrivent pas \u00e0 cette vision multiculturaliste, naturellement, et le camp f\u00e9d\u00e9raliste a \u00e9chou\u00e9 \u00e0 plusieurs reprises \u00e0 offrir au peuple qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois une solution acceptable pour sa participation volontaire \u00e0 la f\u00e9d\u00e9ration canadienne. Toute tentative d'int\u00e9grer la nation qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise dans l'honneur et l'enthousiasme, comme on l'a d\u00e9j\u00e0 dit, a \u00e9t\u00e9 abandonn\u00e9e.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316492\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Pour toutes ces raisons, le serment de fonction permettrait aux d\u00e9put\u00e9s du Bloc qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois de s'engager solennellement \u00e0 exercer leurs fonctions dans l'int\u00e9r\u00eat sup\u00e9rieur du Canada.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8316493\" data-originallang=\"fr\">Nous pensons que l'accession du Qu\u00e9bec \u00e0 son ind\u00e9pendance sera l'occasion aussi pour les autres nations et populations du Canada de rediscuter de la d\u00e9finition et des composantes de leurs associations politiques. Dans cette optique, le pr\u00e9sent projet de loi est un petit pas dans la bonne direction et pr\u00e9sente une am\u00e9lioration d\u00e9mocratique significative qui nous permettrait de faire un serment plus respectueux de notre libert\u00e9 de conscience.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2024/4/9/mario-beaulieu-1/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/mario-beaulieu/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/4426/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "12665269",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Private Members' Business",
        "fr": "Affaires \u00e9manant des d\u00e9put\u00e9s"
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Constitution Act, 1867",
        "fr": "La Loi constitutionnelle de 1867"
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2024/4/9/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2024%2F4%2F9%2F"
    }
}