Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Vaudreuil. There is no doubt that with regard to research, Quebec is not unfavourably treated at Agriculture Canada, but that may well be the only one where it is not at a disadvantage. This business of federal spending inequity between Quebec and Western Canada is old news.
For the hon. member for Vaudreuil's information, inequities have existed for decades, in the sense that the federal government has been giving Quebec much less than its fair share by comparison with Western provinces. In Quebec, organizers, the Ministry of Immigration and farm organizations have met on several occasions in 1988, and in 1991, to denounce this ongoing inequity.
I want to tell the hon. member for Vaudreuil this inequity turned out to be for the best. The fact the federal government was not as involved as expected and not contributing as much as it should drew Quebec farmers closer together. That is why in Quebec, farm organizations are so well organized, motivated and aggressive; they never had the chance to grow as dependent on the federal government as some other provinces.
That is why these organizations can courageously and confidently seek harvest markets abroad. It is also why Quebec farmers are waiting with anticipation for sovereignty, because then, they will benefit from investments made in their regions to strengthen infrastructures that will help them. There is no doubt farmers are among those who stand to gain the most from sovereignty.
A second comment regarding GATT. The hon. member for Vaudreuil praised this agreement, like all government members do. He said farmers would benefit from tariffs that would help support the supply management system for a good while. But the transition period is one of the terms and conditions so poorly negotiated by the government. Six years is a rather short transition period. To compensate for article XI, the government could have obtained at least ten years to give time to the agricultural industry to adjust.
Farming is not like toy manufacturing; it is an extremely complex industry that requires a very long time to adjust to new conditions. We must admit that the Canadian government has shown weakness in the GATT negotiations by accepting a
transition period of only six years. This is one aspect among many in which the federal government was not fair to Quebec farmers.