Mr. Speaker, I appreciate having the opportunity to share time with my colleague, the member for Vaudreuil, on this Bloc Quebecois opposition day motion.
It is important to go over the words of this motion presented to the House by the Bloc. They are condemning the government for having dropped the Canadian content requirements in the contracts for the purchase of military equipment and refusing to set up a genuine program for the conversion of the military industry, thus endangering the Canadian aerospace industry located in Montreal.
It is important for all Canadians to know, and specifically Canadians from Quebec, people from Quebec who still believe in Canada, and even the separatists for that matter, that it was a Liberal government that basically set up the foundation of the aerospace industry in the province of Quebec.
We only have to go back to when the current Prime Minister was the minister of industry in 1977. As the Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce, he was the one who bought the rights for the Canadair Challenger jet. That Canadair Challenger jet, which started out as an executive jet, as we all know today is probably one of the best commuter jets manufactured in the world. That industry is alive and well in the province of Quebec, which is part of the Bombardier Corporation.
We just need to go back to 1980-81, when the then Liberal government under the direction and leadership of Pierre Elliott Trudeau made a multi-billion dollar purchase of the F-18A fighter aircraft and 80 per cent of the offsets in that fighter aircraft were basically let out to the aerospace industry in Montreal.
The history of and the commitment of the Liberal government to the aerospace industry in the province of Quebec are well laid out. There is a great commitment and there is great history. For the Bloc Quebecois to suggest that we as a government are not committed to supporting this industry is simply incorrect.
In the motion the Bloc Quebecois is saying that the government dropped the Canadian content requirements. It is forgetting what happened when many members of the government were in opposition.
I would like to return to the free trade agreement. The leader of the Bloc Quebecois supported the free trade agreement. Many of us on this side of the House opposed the free trade agreement. One of the reasons we opposed the free trade agreement was chapter 14, which essentially gave people offshore unfettered access to and unlimited control over the Canadian industry. As part of that agreement, we now are prohibited from dictating Canadian content.
We have to remind the members of the Bloc Quebecois that they cannot suck and blow at the same time. It is not possible. They cannot stand up in the House to support the free trade agreement, which essentially gives up our ability to dictate Canadian content, and then come back three years later and condemn the government for having dropped the Canadian content requirements. That is the motion we have before us today.
The members of the Bloc Quebecois opposed the notion of having control over Canadian content three years ago, and they are regretting it today. It was the Liberal Party that opposed the free trade agreement as it was negotiated by the previous government.
I have always believed that the auto pact was an example of a negotiated trade agreement in which we could enshrine our interests and our ability to ensure Canadian content. That was a unique feature of the auto pact. However, we gave up the opportunity to negotiate a similar agreement for the aerospace industry.
It is very important for us to let Quebecers know that the Liberal government is not opposed to the aerospace industry in Quebec being a vibrant and healthy sector. The Liberal government will not do anything to hurt the industry. If anything, we are going out of our way to help it.
The question that was brought up by some Bloc Quebecois members this morning is what is Quebec's fair share. The Canadian space station is based in the province of Quebec. That is one of the premier institutes of the industry. The commuter jet of Canadair is being manufactured in Quebec. The maintenance of the F-18A, our fighter aircraft, is being done in Quebec today. As a Toronto member, an Ontario member, I have absolutely no difficulty with that. It is a good move. By building a critical mass of expertise in the province of Quebec in the aerospace industry we create a capacity to bid on some available subcontracts, prime military contracts available throughout the world.
In other words, we obviously do not have the capacity to build total military aircraft or total products in an off the shelf sense. However, because of the component specialization that exists within the aerospace industry in the province of Quebec, we can bid on some component parts with any of the prime manufacturers not only in the United States but anywhere in the world.
It is very important to make sure our fellow Canadians realize this avenue of opportunity is available for people in the aerospace industry in the province of Quebec.
It is true that in the past we were much more aggressive in dictating Canadian content. However, because of the ability to make a quality product at a competitive price, there is probably a lot more opportunity in the aerospace industry in the province of Quebec than Bloc members are giving it credit for.
As part of the new defence industry conversion program we are trying to say to those people in the aerospace industry that although we no longer give direct grants we will make sure we give them marketing support. If they have a quality product in that sector at a competitive price-and we certainly have an advantage because of our Canadian dollar-then the secret would be centred in the whole area of marketing. We have to market the aerospace industry in the province of Quebec.
Rather than stand in the House today and cast doubt on the ability of the aerospace industry to compete, we should be boasting about the quality products made in the aerospace industry in the province of Quebec and figuring out ways of doing things together.