The House resumed consideration of the motion of Ms. Hoeppner (Portage—Lisgar), seconded by Mr. Dechert (Mississauga—Erindale), — That the following Address be presented to Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada:
To Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.
MAY IT PLEASE YOUR EXCELLENCY:
We, Her Majesty's most loyal and dutiful subjects, the House of Commons of Canada, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Excellency for the gracious Speech which Your Excellency has addressed to both Houses of Parliament;
And of the amendment of Mr. Dion (Saint-Laurent—Cartierville), seconded by Mr. Brison (Kings—Hants), — That the motion be amended by adding the following:
“and we urge Your Excellency’s advisors to respect the results of the election in which more than 60 percent of voters supported Members of Parliament in the opposition;
to bear in mind that people express their wishes as much through the opposition as through the government;
to recognize that Canadians rightfully expect the House of Commons they just elected to function in a less partisan, more constructive and collaborative manner, with the first responsibility for setting a better tone being that of the government which requires the government to be more forthcoming than it has been up to now; and
to that end, given the crucial nature of the up-coming economic and fiscal update, to provide representatives of opposition parties with a detailed briefing by appropriate senior officials at least three hours in advance of the public presentation of the update, so all Members of Parliament can be properly equipped to deal with the serious economic difficulties confronting Canadians”;
And of the subamendment of Mr. Duceppe (Laurier—Sainte-Marie), seconded by Mr. Paquette (Joliette), — That the amendment be amended by adding after the words “in the opposition” the following:
“and that the House recognize that the Speech from the Throne is unanimously decried in Quebec because it reflects a Conservative ideology that was rejected by 78 percent of the Quebec nation on October 14 and that as a result the House denounce the fact that it does not respond to the consensus in Quebec respecting, for instance, the legislation on young offenders, the repatriation to Quebec of powers over culture and communications, the elimination of the federal spending power and the maintenance of the existing system of securities regulation”.
The debate continued.