Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to rise today to address the motion before us by my colleague, the hon. member for Moose Jaw-Lake Centre. Before I get into the things I plan to say, I would like to take a few seconds to address my hon. colleagues, particularly those in the Bloc party.
I listened with interest to the speech given by the member for Jonquière. He expressed surprise that the Reform Party was promoting a motion such as this. I assure him this should come as no surprise.
I believe the issue we are facing with respect to the federal government in Ottawa is probably very similar for three groups: those in the west where the Reform Party is now the strongest; those in the province of Quebec; and those farther east. Because of their geographical location and special circumstances, they feel somehow left out of the federal government except when the federal government intrudes where we do not want it to intrude.
I say to all members and particularly those from the province of Quebec and the people they represent that the difference is that they have given up on federalism. I am so sad about that. They have decided that Canada is no longer a place where they are welcome and they want out. That is the message I think I hear correctly from them. The difference between them and us is that we want in. We want to be part of the Canadian federation, but we do want it to work better.
During the 1993 election campaign a number of people in my area were sporting bumper stickers on their cars which read: My Canada includes Quebec. We think of the people across this entire country as our fellow citizens, as our brothers and sisters. We invite them to try once again to make Confederation work, to work together with us rather than trying to separate and divide the country.
In this regard, I had a short conversation with a person not long ago who asked: "What is the matter with those people in Quebec?" I told him that the problem was not Quebec, but that the problem was Ottawa. After talking about it for a bit we decided that was probably true.
The federal government, by overly utilizing its spending power has intruded on areas of provincial jurisdiction. Members here are focusing on a problem that we really do need to address and solve.
Getting back to what we are here for, this private member's motion addresses this question. It says that we want to represent Canadian people in the very best way.
Once again, if I can indulge in a short analysis, I look at it in the following way: We have around 28 to 29 million Canadians. Many Canadians, over 250,000, are farmers. We have a relationship between farmers and the rest of Canadians. Strictly speaking, neither the farmers nor other Canadians are terribly interested in which level of government is regulating their lives, controlling their actions and reducing their freedom.
I get the message over and over again that Canadians want a devolution of power nearer to the people. Too many people feel disenfranchised. They feel powerless to have anybody hear them on any issue. That ranges all the way from taxation, which keeps going up, up, up even with this government, to gun control, which is a very important issue in our area, to agriculture, where the federal government intrudes into an area where there is no jurisdictional warrant for it.
This does not need to be said. We all know how important it is that we have a strong agricultural industry. All one needs to do is to read some history to recognize that any country which becomes dependent upon outsiders for its food supply is extremely vulnerable.
We could all live for a minute or so without air. I agree with the environmentalists who say we should keep our air clean. We could live for maybe a week or so without water. I agree with the environmentalists who say we should keep our water clean and safe.
Depending on who the individual is, I am sure some members here would only live for a week or so without food, but some of us with larger bank accounts might last a little longer. We need to have a safe food supply and that is one thing we can have. It is such a privilege to live in this country where we have a plentiful and safe food supply. That comes from our agriculture and agri-food industry.
If there is anything worth preserving in this country it is the strength of that industry because our very lives depend on it. Our freedom and our independence from other countries depend on it.
How can we best arrange our affairs between the supplier, the producer, the farmer and the consumer, those other citizens who are eating the food being produced? We ought to reconsider and probably reject the premise that the federal government has to have a lot of involvement in it.
The nearer one gets the regulation, the nearer one gets the subsidization if there is that, the nearer one gets the controls to the actual producers and consumers and the further one gets it away from Ottawa the better it is for the industry as a whole.
That is not to say the federal government has nothing to do. That is the purpose of the bill. It asks us to carefully examine the areas where the federal government has a role, and there are some.
To my hon. colleagues from Quebec, their separation is not in any way going to alter the necessity of having a relationship with the rest of North America. They have often said they would like to use our currency and have free movement across our borders. They have even mentioned they would like to use our passports. All they are saying is they recognize the need in our world to live together. They will have to live together in one system or another which will require working together which will solve this.
I am simply submitting in the most emphatic way I can that we need to return to provincial governments those areas of jurisdiction which are best served there. We need to retain in the federal area things like international trade, the rules of trade and the barriers toward movement of agricultural goods back and forth. Those are going to apply whether there is a different government there or not. There is an overriding government which will have to apply to these relationships.
My appeal to the members is to support the bill because it would require us to look at those areas which should be devolved to provincial levels and to the private sector.
One of the large weaknesses or hindrances of our present economy is there has been too much movement toward regulation by government away from the business people. This is very important.
To quote the bumper sticker on my farmer brother's half-ton: "When you complain about farmers, don't talk with your mouth full".