Sudbury MP Diane Marleau voted against a Conservative motion recognizing that the Quebecois form a nation within a united Canada Monday night because it panders to separatists, she says.
“Whenever the Bloc Quebecois are happy about something, your guts tell you it's only going to lead to more problems,” she says. “The Bloc are a bunch of people who want to destroy the country, and when you start playing their games, all you do is advance their cause.”
Nickel Belt MPP Ray Bonin voted in favour of the motion. He could not be reached for comment.
Marleau was one of 15 Liberals, including leadership candidates Ken Dryden and Joe Volpe, to vote against the motion. Independent MP Garth Turner, who was suspended from the Conservative caucus last month, also voted against the motion.
Missing from the Conservative bench was Michael Chong, who resigned as minister of intergovernmental affairs Monday because he wasn't consulted about the motion and doesn't believe in offering special status to any particular ethnic group.
The Conservatives introduced the motion in response to an earlier Bloc motion, which said Quebec is a nation with no reference to Canada.
Nobody really knows what “Quebecois” means in the context of the motion, and that's problematic, says Marleau.
“Is it people who happen to live on the land of Quebec, or is it people who speak French only and live in Quebec? Nobody knows. Nobody has explained it.”