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"Regaining Confidence in Canada"

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

January 25, 1996


Canada, a universal model of openness, tolerance and generosity, must not inflict on the world the spectacle of its break-up. On every continent, governments hesitate to grant their minorities rights and autonomy, because they suspect them, almost always incorrectly, of harbouring separatist ambitions. If Canada were to break up, worried majorities would hold it up as an example. It would be said that this defunct federation had died from an overdose of decentralization and tolerance -- in short, from an overdose of democracy. Its demise would serve as an alibi for everything that one can expect from hardliners in the face of minorities' aspirations.

Rather than spreading mistrust between majorities and minorities in this way, we must instead show that different populations can live in harmony within a single state.

If Canada were unfortunate enough to split up, we, Quebecers and Canadians in the other provinces, would certainly be the first to pay the price. In Quebec, the majority would find it very difficult to obtain from its minorities the enthusiastic support that it, for its part, had denied Canada. It would never be able to give them the same high degree of autonomy that it had felt was not enough for itself as a Canadian province. As for the rest of Canada, it could by no means take for granted its unity without Quebec. There is no known example of a federation that has survived being cut apart at its centre.

The unemployment and poverty that afflict the industrialized world do not allow Canada to impose on itself, in addition, the costs of disunion. For the future of our children, for all Canadians, we must preserve Canada. It is through union, by staying together, that we will be able to make our lives easier.

A mere ten years ago, Canadian unity was solid. The vast majority of Quebecers no longer saw secession as a necessary recourse. To strengthen the Canadian union, the governments of the day undertook a constitutional round which did not work out. What some people called recognition, others understood to mean privilege. Since then, the understanding that Quebecers and other Canadians have of each other and of Canada has deteriorated to the point that a break-up has never been closer.

The saddest thing is that, out of resentment, out of frustration, many Quebecers are now ready to risk renouncing a country to which they nevertheless feel attached. That attitude ill prepares them for the costs and difficulties that secession will inflict on them. As for other Canadians, there are too many of them who, weary and exasperated, have resigned themselves or no longer want to make any attempt to preserve the unity of their country. This defeatism must be fought.

We have the means to do so. It consists of two strengths that have made our federation an admirable political system: linguistic duality and decentralization.

Democracies which are fortunate enough to have more than one official language, which enjoy through that fact a greater openness to a universe of cultures, make special arrangements to help their linguistic groups live together in harmony. Our Official Languages Act, and the recognition of language rights in the Constitution, constitute a model of that type of arrangement. We need only go further, and recognize as a strength, as an opportunity for Canada, that within this English-speaking North American continent, there exists a society that is functioning in French and takes the means to continue to do so while respecting its own linguistic minority. The Canadian provinces are all distinct from one another, but Quebec, with its French-language culture, introduces a special distinction which must be recognized as such. Such recognition, which leads neither to upheaval nor privilege, offers a guarantee that in the grey areas of the Constitution, those areas where the rules require some interpretation, Quebec's distinctiveness will be taken into account.

Our second strength lies in the fact that our federation is based on decentralization. A strong Canada must not be confused with a strong federal government alone, but must rather be based on a strong federative whole. Canada is lucky that its provinces have a high degree of autonomy. This favours creativity. It was the province of Saskatchewan that paved the way for our public health systems. It is thanks to decentralization that eight out of ten provinces have regained the path toward a balanced budget, each of them by focusing on their own resources and their own strategies.

It is also through a clearer distribution of roles and responsibilities between the two orders of government, more efficient forms of partnership, and through a more intelligent decentralization that is better designed for citizens, that we will find the path to unity, as Prime Minister Chrétien stated in his speech in Verdun on October 24, 1995.

The Swiss have the most powerful municipal system in the world, and from that extensive decentralization they derive a source of pride, an additional reason to feel Swiss. In the same way, we as Canadians have nothing to fear from decentralization. We know it well enough to make it our ally.

A strong federal government must not be confused with a centralizing government. Restricting itself to its own role will only make it more effective. Canadians understand this well. But Canadians will not accept provinces behaving like ten egotistical republics. Change is possible only if it is based on Canadian solidarity.

I have taken pains to demonstrate the relevance of these values and these principles, as an academic and as a researcher. I have defended them publicly by always saying the same thing in both official languages. The Prime Minister of Canada has invited me to better promote them by joining his Cabinet. I have accepted that honour.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien is criticized a great deal in his native Quebec. But for my part, I see him as a leader who knows how to surround himself with capable people, how to listen and how to decide, and who is open to change. He has given me heavy responsibilities despite my political inexperience. I will do what I can to merit the confidence he has shown in me.

The federal government is also the government of Quebecers. It is important that Quebecers continue to bring to it their culture and their talents, because the truth is that we belong to a federation not only to profit from it, but also to help it with all our strengths. I am proud to be a Quebecer and a Canadian, and I will do everything I can to show how these two loyalties can complement each other well. I know that many of us will do so, through political action or through other democratic means. Together, we will help to bring about reconciliation. Quebecers and other Canadians must enter the next century united and stronger.

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Last Modified: 1996-01-25  Important Notices