Mr. Speaker, I am surprised by the Reform Party's reaction. They did not argue very long against this amendment, that I will read since it is important to understand the situation.
I will not read the amendment as such but what we wanted to delete:
The Minister may give directives to any appropriate authority respecting the exercise or performance of any of its powers, duties or functions under this Act or the regulations, and such directives are binding on the appropriate authority.
That is a good example of the co-operative federalism the parliamentary secretary referred to earlier. A partnership where everything seems to happen in harmony and in a climate of good understanding. If that were true, the minister would not have to include such provisions in this bill.
Let us try to figure out the minister's intentions. First possibility, when they say they want to add that "such directives are binding on the appropriate authority", does it mean that, in the past, appropriate authorities in the provinces did not follow directives or that the student financial assistance system did not work well? I am not talking about Quebec but about the other provinces, because Quebec had exercised the right to opt out, which it wants to preserve.
The fact that they felt the need to include "such directives are binding on the appropriate authority" in the bill, being very strict and everything when it should go without saying, suggests that there are many problems.
I see my colleague from Louis-Hébert, a former teacher, and I give him an example. It is like saying to a young person that under school regulations, smoking is strictly prohibited. And then adding: "Thinking of smoking is strictly prohibited".
They enact regulations upon regulations, which are binding on the authority. When have we ever seen that in a bill? I have read a number of them, more in Quebec than here, but it is very rare. I think it should go without saying. It shows an incredibly authoritarian mentality. The parliamentary secretary talks about partnership and co-operation. I will remind him of certain facts.
Regarding this year's reform of social programs, the minister has postponed his action plan two or three times because the provincial ministers did not agree with him on the agenda. What a good example of co-operation! They cannot even agree on what to include in the agenda because the provinces are so suspicious.
Another example of co-operation is a National Assembly resolution on job training, which was passed unanimously on April 15, I think, telling the federal government not to meddle in education and training matters in Quebec. Even Premier Johnson, a stauncher federalist than his predecessor, voted for this resolution. What a good example of co-operation! Everything is going awfully well with people working in harmony. Only Bloc members see problems.
I just said that it is not only the Bloc members but also all members of Quebec's National Assembly, including those in the Liberal Party, the sister party of the federal Liberals. There should be harmony, yet motions are adopted unanimously in the National Assembly. There should be another solution, as having such an item on the agenda speaks of a lack of confidence. The
past is often a harbinger of the future. Things happen, but why? Always because of the centralizing will of the federal government in an area in which it has no jurisdiction under the Constitution.
Government members are surprised at the Bloc members' reaction. Bloc members complained to the standing committee studying the bill. We insisted on seeing the regulations because the legislation was vague in many respects, and, without a right of appeal, the Minister has a lot of power. We were finally given an overview. I would like to underline here that regulations can stipulate that appropriate authorities may sign entitlement certificates, designate educational institutions, sign entitlement certificates regarding registration confirmations, and so on. It goes a long way.
Confirmation that a student has registered at a university or college is not a national objective. We are now dealing with registration. The borrower signs the entitlement certificate concerning the loan application, the contract-All we got to see was an overview, not even the real regulations.
Other than being excessively centralizing, this bill reflects a will to encroach on provincial jurisdiction. There is a double centralization, but this time from the Minister of Human Resources Development, who wants to control and manage things, through appropriate authorities who are being told in advance that they have to agree to everything the minister says. This is co-operation! How modern can you get? This is unheard of.
This is a power over which the House of Commons and its members would have no control, since it would be delegated to the federal Minister of Human Resources Development. We are concerned by that and this is why we are trying so hard, while there is still time, to convince the members opposite to change their mind on this issue.
We want to convince them before it is too late. The minister gave examples of co-operation and he read a statement from the education minister in Nova Scotia. For those who are not aware of that, three provinces previously benefitted from a trial agreement which served as a basis for this bill. The parliamentary secretary mentioned Nova Scotia.
Yet, based on testimony heard by the Human Rights Development Committee, and I attended every single meeting and consultation of that committee, it appears that Nova Scotia is the worst possible example one could provide, according to the students, because there is a lot of concern in Nova Scotia at present.
The parliamentary secretary also mentioned Alberta. I do not have the newspaper article with me but, yesterday, it was mentioned that many students are worried there as well. Students are concerned about the reduced financial assistance provided by the provinces. They are also concerned about the financing of post-secondary education. And they are concerned about something else too. It is all very well to raise the loan ceiling and bring in scholarships. Indeed, there are some good provisions in this bill, including for part-time students, for single mothers and for others as well, but what we oppose is the government's will to centralize. We object to this show of authority.