Discussion · Government Orders
Mario Simard Bloc Québécois
“This bill touches on education and Quebec culture, which are areas where Quebec has the power to make laws. The federal government has power over telecommunications, but it is stepping into areas that belong to the provinces. I want the federal government to respect Quebec's powers.”
“Mr. Speaker, one thing that has been extensively documented in Canadian political history is recurrence of predatory federalism, when the federal government chooses to make decisions in areas outside its jurisdiction. All I was trying to point out to my colleague is that, on closer examination of the bill, we see that it definitely includes aspects related to education and our cultural distinctiveness. The Quebec government is best placed to address these imperatives. I completely understand that residual powers give the federal government the ability to legislate on matters related to telecommunications, but we should not overlook the essential fact that Quebec also has the ability to legislate in its its areas of jurisdiction. We are asking the federal government to take that into consideration.”
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Mr. Speaker, one thing that has been extensively documented in Canadian political history is recurrence of predatory federalism, when the federal government chooses to make decisions in areas outside its jurisdiction. All I was trying to point out to my colleague is that, on closer examination of the bill, we see that it definitely includes aspects related to education and our cultural distinctiveness. The Quebec government is best placed to address these imperatives. I completely understand that residual powers give the federal government the ability to legislate on matters related to telecommunications, but we should not overlook the essential fact that Quebec also has the ability to legislate in its its areas of jurisdiction. We are asking the federal government to take that into consideration.