“I want to ask the minister about a bill Quebec passed yesterday to protect certain voting districts.”

“Mr. Speaker, I am going to take advantage of the fact that the minister responsible for democratic institutions is here to get his perspective on something that happened in the National Assembly. Yesterday, they passed a bill to protect certain electoral districts. As we are well aware, each time a redistribution happens, we try to reconcile—”

“Quebec passed a law to protect some ridings from becoming too big. When ridings get redrawn, we have to balance having equal numbers of voters with keeping ridings small enough to manage. My riding is huge, and some are even bigger. What should we do to balance these two things better?”

“Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the National Assembly of Quebec passed a law to protect certain ridings in my region, the Gaspé Peninsula, as well as one in Montreal. With every electoral redistribution exercise comes tension between, on the one hand, population growth and the need to ensure that each vote carries similar relative weight, and, on the other hand, the importance of ensuring that ridings do not become too large. The Quebec National Assembly chose to protect certain ridings. Similar situations exist at the federal level. My riding, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, now covers 23,000 square kilometres. That is larger than the area of Djibouti. Several of my colleagues have even larger ridings. What does my colleague think we can do to better balance these two requirements?”

“Quebec added more seats to its legislature so ridings would not be too big and voters could stay connected to their politicians. Would you consider doing the same for federal ridings?”

“Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his kind words about Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine, which is an absolutely wonderful place. I would like to ask him another question. The action that the Quebec National Assembly took to reconcile these two principles, or in other words to guarantee equality of voting power and ensure that the ridings are not too big, led to an increased number of MNAs. The number of members of the Quebec National Assembly is going to increase from 125 to 127. Is my colleague prepared to consider that type of solution to ensure that federal ridings remain manageable in size so that citizens truly have access to their MP?”

“I want to know if the member is open to adding more ridings so they do not get too big.”

“Mr. Speaker, I have a follow-up question for my colleague. I really enjoyed his answer, and we read the same Supreme Court decision. My question is this: Is he ready to consider increasing the number of federal ridings to ensure that they retain their human scale?”

“I share the sadness expressed today for the police officers who were killed in Ontario. I also want to congratulate my friend Normand Branchaud, who has been a musician for 60 years. I want to ask my colleague if music is an important part of his life.”

“Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I want to note that the Bloc Québécois members share all the sentiments that have been expressed today regarding the police officers who lost their lives in Ontario. I think that is important. I also want to acknowledge my dear friend Normand Branchaud, who is celebrating 60 years as a musician this weekend. He is an extraordinary individual who bought his first harmonica with three and a half dollars that he earned by running errands. I congratulate him. I have a question for my colleague. Is music a big part of his life?”

• Little substance
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  Question or comment in debate

  Signal 35 of 100

  Much of this statement went to praise, blame, greetings, routine procedure or general stories rather than reasons, requests or specific points.

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“I want to know if the government leader saw the cybersecurity warnings from Quebec. An inquiry showed foreign countries meddled in our elections. American companies own most of our digital systems, so we should be worried about our election security.”

“Mr. Speaker, my question is very simple. I would like to know if my colleague opposite, the government leader, has seen or read the remarks by the National Assembly’s cybersecurity lead, Stéphane Le Bouyonnec, and if he noticed any red flags. In committee, Mr. Le Bouyonnec talked about the risks associated with insufficient digital sovereignty. In the case before us, the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs held 70 meetings before finally securing an independent public inquiry that confirmed there has been interference in our elections. If Quebec says it is not sufficiently equipped, how can we think we have nothing to worry about here when 85% of the infrastructure is owned by south-of-the-border interests?”

“Quebec will have fewer people compared to the rest of Canada over time. Does my colleague think it is realistic to add proportional representation to our voting system without changing the Constitution?”

“Mr. Speaker, this time I will ask my colleague a question that relates to the topic at hand. That said, I really liked his previous answer, which I am sure will be greatly appreciated. My colleague referred earlier to the vote we took during the previous Parliament to maintain Quebec’s political representation at 78 ridings. We know that the demographic weight of the Quebec nation will continue to decline in the federal Parliament. There are groups currently putting pressure on the government to introduce some form of proportional representation in the electoral process. There is the issue of multiple candidates. Bill C-25 directly addresses the issue. Does my colleague think that, because the Constitution cannot be amended in Canada, it would be realistic at some point to embark on a process to introduce an element of proportionality into our voting system? That would certainly reassure our constituents.”