Manitoba Hansard — 19 December 1988 (Sitting 101, 34th Legislature, 1st Session)

34-1-101

Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)

AG-8048 First Session - Thirty-Fourth Legislature of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba DEBATES and PROCEEDINGS (HANSARD) 37 Elizabeth 11 Published under the authority of The Honourable Denis C. Rocan Speaker VOL. XXXVII No. 101 - 1:30 p.m., MONDAY, DECEMBER 19, 1988. ISSN 0542-5492 Printed by the Office of the Queens Printer, Province of Manitoba MANITOBA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Thirty-Fourth Legislature Members, Constituencies and Political Affiliation NAME ALCOCK,Reg ANGUS, John ASHTON, Steve BURRELL, Parker CARR, James CARSTAIRS, Sharon CHARLES, Gwen CHEEMA, Gulzar CHORNOPYSKI, William CONNERY, Edward Hon.

COWAN,Jay CUMMINGS, Glen, Hon. DERKACH, Leonard, Hon. DOER, Gary DOWNEY, James Hon. DRIEDGER, Albert, Hon. DRIEDGER, Hero�d, L. DUCHARME, Gerald, Hon. EDWARDS, Paul ENNS,Harry ERNST, Jim, Hon. EVANS, Laurie EVANS, Leonard FILMON, Gary, Hon. F:INDLAY, Glen Hon. GAUDR Y, Neil GILLESHAMMER, Harold GRAY, Avis HAMMOND, Gerrie HARAPIAK, Harry HARPER, Elijah HELWER, Edward R. tiEMPHILL, Maureen KOZAK, Richard, J. L:AMOUREUX, Kevin, M. NIALOWAY, Jim MANDRAKE, Ed MANNESS, Clayton, Hon. McCRAE, James Hon. MINENKO, Mark MITCHELSON, Bonnie, Hon. NEUFELD, Harold, Hon. OLESON, Charlotte Hon. ORCHARD, Donald Hon.

PANKRATZ, Helmut PATTERSON, Allan PENNER, Jack, Hon. PLOHMAN, John PRAZNIK, Darren ROCAN, Denis, Hon. ROCH, Gilles ROSE, Bob STORIE, Jerry TAYLOR, Haroid URUSKI, Bill WASYLYCIA-LEIS, Judy YEO, lva CONSTITUENCY Os borne St. Norbert Thompson Swan River Fort Rouge River Heights Selkirk Kildonan Burrows ·ti'ortage la Prairie Churchill Ste. Rose du Lac Roblin-Russ{;lll �Concordia Arthur .Emerson Niakwa· Riel St.James Lakeside Charleswood FortGarry Brandon East Tuxedo Vir den St.

Boniface Minnedosa Ell ice Kirkfield Park The Pas Rupertsland Gimli Logan Transcona lnkster Elmwood . �ssiniboia ·Morris · · Brandbn West Seven Oaks River East Rossmer� Gl_adstone Pemb)na La VerEmdrye Radissori Rhineland Dauphin Lac du Bonnet Turtle Mountain Springfield St. Vital Flin Flon Wolseley lnterlake St.

Johns Sturgeon Creek PARTY LIBERAL LIBERAL NDP PC LIBERAL LIBERAL LIBERAL LIBERAL LIBERAL PC NDP PC PC NDP PC PC LIBERAL PC LIBERAL PC PC LIBERAL NDP PC PC LIBERAL PC LIBERAL PC NDP NDP PC NDP LIBERAL LIBERAL NDP LIBERAL PC PC LIBERAL PC PC l>c PC PC LIBERAL PC NDP PC PC LIBERAL LIBERAL NDP LIBERAL NDP NDP LIBERAL LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF MANITOBA Monday, December 19, 1988. The House met at 1:30 p.m. PRAYERS ROUTINE PROCEEDINGS Hon.

James Mccrae (Government House Leader): In light of certain discussions taking place amongst Party officials, I wonder if there might be a willingness or a disposition on the part of Honourable Members to recess the House for a few minutes . Mr. Speaker: Is it the will of the House to recess? (Agreed) How much time are we looking for? Mr. Mccrae: Until the bells ring. ~ Mr. Speaker: Until the bells ring, the House is recessed. (RECESS} MINISTERIAL STATEMENTS AND TABLING OF REPORTS Hon. Gary Filmon (Premier): Mr. Speaker, I have a statement to make and I have copies for Members opposite.

In introducing the Meech Lake Accord into this Legislature on Friday, I quoted former Premier Howard Pawley, who said: · "It symbolizes a renewed spirit of good will and reconciliation across Canada. The accord made it a fundamental obligation of all Governments to protect minority language rights ." I believe the decision made yesterday by the Government of Quebec to restrict minority language rights in that province violates the spirit of the Meech Lake Accord.

In these circumstances, I have concluded that the debate on the resolution now before us and the public hearings would not serve a useful purpose and may invite a very negative anti-Quebec backlash . Accordingly, I have advised the Prime Minister that my caucus and I cannot proceed with the debate and discussion of the accord and, in consultation with the Leaders of both Opposition Parties, I will seek to have the resolution withdrawn from our Legislature . I am tabling a copy of that letter for all Members . •

(1400) Mrs. Sharon Carstairs (Leader of the Opposition): I thank the First Minister (Mr. Filmon) for his statement . This is not an easy moment for any of us on this the 101st day of our Session . We watched, over the weekend, something that I had anticipated as early as April of 1987. At that time·, I tried to warn, in th!! only way I could , as a single Member of this House, that ·• the Meech Lake Accord did not do anything except threaten the rights of minorities in this country and in this province. Monsieur le President, les droits des minorites sont sacres dans noire systeme democratique.

Les democraties peuvent seulement fonctionner lorsque la majorite cede de ses privileges et de ses droits a la minorite, qu'il s'agisse de la minorite de langue anglaise ou la minorite de langue franc;;aise. L' Accord du lac Meech menace ces droits: et pour cette raison, nous avons le devoir de l'arreter . (Translation) Mr. Speaker, the rights of minqrities are sacred in our democratic system . Democracy can only function when the majority concedes some o_f its p(ivileges and its rights to the minority, oe it the English language minority or the French language min.ority ..

The Meech Lake Accord jeopardizes these rights and , for this reason , we have a duty _ to stop it. Mr. Speaker, I spoke then because I felt in my heart that although I welcomed Quebec as a signatory of the 1982 Constitutional Accord, I did so with grave reservations about the future of our country, with grave reservations about the future of our Charter-a Charter that recognizes the equality of all people; a Charter which is so eloquent in its definition of what it means to protect the minorities of Canada. I think that on this day it is very appropriate that I read from that Charter .

It says, " Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and~ in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability ." It speaks so eloquently about the rights of our aboriginal peoples, about our multicultural dynamic .

It speaks of the rights of women, and I always believed from the day that I read the Meech Lake Accord that these rights were threatened and jeopardized under the " distinct society" clause which seemed to be some agreement forged to give it supremacy. The Premier said on Friday it did not do that ; it did not give it supremacy.

But when I heard Robert Bourassa en francais yesterday, in which he said, if I had had the Meech Lake Accord, I would not have had to have used the "notwithstanding clause ." He said that the "distinct society" clause would take precedence and that collective rights in this country would be more important than individual rights. I did not believe that in the spring of 1987 and I do not believe that today. The individual rights must always be paramount. I hope that we can now go back to the table and we can renegotiate a better accord .

We can afford a better accord for our aboriginal peoples, for our women, for our multicultural dynamic, for the hope of Senate _,eform-genuine reform, for the hope of a national spending power that will not allow a patchwork quilt of social programs from one end of this country to the other. Therefore, the Liberal caucus will agree to the Premier's motion to withdraw this accord . 4184 Monday, December 19, 1988 *

(1405) Mr. Gary Doer (Leader of the Second Opposition): Mr. Speaker , it is indeed a very historic and serious day In this province and in this Chamber . It is ,a very, very historic day for all of us in facing the challenges we have as elected representative~ in a Manitoba Legislature which is part and dear io the Canadian Constitution and our country . I believe that Manitoba has played an · historic role over the years and over the decades in bridging the aspirations of this country and the people in this country .

We have played an historic role in terms of developing fair spending powers in this country for all Canadians . We have played an historic role in getting and obtaining votes for women in terms of the constitutional context that was contained earlier in our century. We have played historic roles in improving our Constitution and the Constitution for the people of Canada and indeed the people of Manitoba .

We supeort the withdrawal of the motion today as presentedoy the Premier, and we believe that we must deal with our historic responsibility in a very, very serious and dedicated way to bridge eastern and western Canada, to bridge the have and the have-not provinces in this country, to bridge the resource-based provinces with those in central Canada , the manufacturing base in this country, and to bridge the majority concerns with the minority rights. Mr.

Speaker , there is absolutely no question that the action of the Premier of Quebe c yesterday broke the balance betweei'l the rights of the majority and the rights of the minority in th is country , and I applaud the action of the Premier today in withdrawing this resolution before us. We know this accord is flawed and we know that there will be another First Ministers ' meeting to deal, at some point in the future , with the action that has taken place in Manitoba today .

I would urge the Premier, on behalf of all citizens of Manitoba , to deal with the flaws in the accord and the ' challenges that he has, peal with the spending power provisions that unfortunately allow provinces to opt out of future !;pending programs, deal with the ambiguities that have· become utterly important for us to deal with in this C_hamber between the " dist inct society " clause in the Cl)arter of Rights with the action of the Premier of Quebec yesterday, and deal with the lack of aboriginal rights and an aboriginal conference in terms of the Meech Lake Accord . Mr.

Speaker, I could go on about some of the problems of this accord , but we believe that we can again be the bridge in improving the Constitution of Canada . Then again we can take the leadership position in this historic day in Manitoba to improve our Constitution on behalf of all Canadians and all Manitobans . We will support the motion that the Premier will be making today . Thank you very much . Mr. Filmon: Mr. Speaker, by leave, I move , seconded by the Honourable Minister of Northern Affairs (Mr. Downey), that the Constitutional Amendment Resolution standing in my name be withdrawn . Mr.

Speaker : Is there unanimous consent to withdraw the Constitutional Amendment Motion as proposed by the Honourable First Minister during the second day of debate? Agreed and so ordered . An Honourable House Leader: Mr. Speaker, I believe there would be _agreement te -call it ten o'clock . Mr. Speaker: Is it the will of the House to call it ten o'clock? {Agreed) The hour being 10 p.m ., this House is now adjourned and stands adjourned until 1:30 p.m. tomorrow (Tuesday). 4185

Document details

Collection	Manitoba — Debates (Hansard)
Citation	34-1-101
Type	hansard
Volume / chapter	34th 1st hansardpdf 101.pdf
Language	en
Format	pdf
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	9ec3b945e4b4f927d56f1f284d461d044eb6a6c9

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