Mr. Speaker, he just said it all. It proves the point that the hon. member for Fraser Valley East is trying to play politics with the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.
The Vancouver Province of March 14, 1996 described hon. members opposite as: ``Wacko Reform''. In Newfoundland people do not have to be reminded by Vancouver newspapers; they know the Reform Party is wacko reform when it comes to protecting and enhancing their economic interests.
Through ACOA the province of Newfoundland, in co-operation with the Government of Canada, has some of the best economic educational programs in North America. It build not only physical infrastructure but, just as important if not more so, human infrastructure. ACOA has added to that to assist in developing and in diversifying its economy.
The hon. member opposite has not stood in his place during question period over the last two and a half years supporting those efforts. He has criticized them; again my thesis that the hon. member opposite is playing cheap, nasty, dirty politics, which is typical of the leader of the Reform Party.
Perhaps the hon. member should state on the floor of the House of Commons whether he supports the leader of the Reform Party. We know the hon. member for Macleod, the bellhop for the party, does not support his leader. Perhaps I should correct that. The leader of the Reform Party does not support the hon. member for Macleod.
I raise this issue because this is the same member who stood up Thursday after the budget and said we were not putting enough into transfer payments. He had the byelections in Quebec and in Newfoundland in mind when he was saying those things.
What did his leader say this week? His leader cut him off, as he should have cut him off, and said: "I am sorry, there have to be more cuts to transfer payments".
At some point in time some will think it is a flip-flop on the part of Reform members in terms of their interests. They consistently say one thing in one part of Canada and another thing in another part of Canada.
When they go to Quebec they ease up and they are goozy, teary eyed, and they want to be friends to the people of Quebec. When they go to Newfoundland the handkerchiefs come out and they want to ooze up to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador; also when they go to Nova Scotia.
Canadians are not fooled by that. They have rejected Reform overwhelmingly and that is why members of its caucus are desperately seeking headlines in the byelection in Newfoundland in terms of misinformation, erroneous information, false information. Newfoundlanders have told me time and time again that the Reform Party is pretty careless with the truth.
The hon. member has not made one sentence in terms of the comprehensive Labrador co-operation agreement of $67.2 million., He has said nothing about the $100 million economic renewal program which will also benefit Labrador. He has said nothing with regard to the Atlantic ground fishery program which will benefit the people of Labrador.
He made reference to one contract consummated by the Supreme Court of Canada which cannot be changed. The only reason he does that, as I indicated at the beginning of my remarks, is he knows it cannot be changed. He is doing it for political purposes. I would have thought the hon. member opposite would have a different view from that of his leader and some of his caucus members and that he would have come here today with constructive suggestions in terms of how the economy in one of the poorest regions of the country could be improved. No, he sets up a straw man, knowing full well what the Supreme Court of Canada has decided.
There is language to describe such conduct. I think the language will be best demonstrated to the hon. member, to the hon. member for McLeod and of course to the famous leader of the Reform Party clearly and unequivocally on election day when the people of Newfoundland and Labrador make their decision and reject overwhelmingly the hypocrisy of this member opposite and of the Reform Party in general.