Pursuant to Order made Wednesday, May 22, 2013, the House resumed consideration of the motion of Mr. Moore (Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages), seconded by Mr. Blaney (Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister for La Francophonie), — That Bill C-49, An Act to amend the Museums Act in order to establish the Canadian Museum of History and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, be now read a second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.
The House proceeded to the taking of the deferred recorded division on the amendment of Mr. Nantel (Longueuil—Pierre-Boucher), seconded by Ms. Freeman (Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel), — That the motion be amended by deleting all the words after the word “That” and substituting the following:
“the House decline to give second reading to Bill C-49, An Act to amend the Museums Act in order to establish the Canadian Museum of History and to make consequential amendments to other Acts, because it:
(a) represents the government’s interference in Canadian history and its attacks on research and the federal institutions that preserve and promote history such as Library and Archives Canada and Parks Canada;
(b) transforms the mission of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, the most popular museum in Canada, to give a secondary role to temporary exhibitions on world cultures when it is precisely these exhibitions that make it a major tourist attraction, an economic force and a job creator for the national capital region;
(c) removes research and collection development from the mission of the Canadian Museum of Civilization, when the Museum is an internationally renowned centre of research;
(d) puts forward a monolithic approach to history that could potentially exclude the experiences of women, francophones, First Nations, Inuit and Métis, and marginalized groups;
(e) was developed in absolute secrecy and without substantial consultations with experts, First Nations, Inuit and Métis, Canadians and key regional actors;
(f) attacks a winning formula at the expense of Canadian taxpayers; and
(g) does not propose any measure to enhance the Museum’s independence and thereby opens the door to potential interference by the minister and the government in determining the content of Museum exhibitions when this should be left to experts.”.
The question was put on the amendment and it was negatived on the following division:
YEAS: 124, NAYS: 153