Lost his last election, in 1997, with 36% of the vote.
Social Security System January 31st, 1994
Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the Deputy Prime Minister for her comments.
There is something that is getting on my nerves and I would like to tell the hon. member about it. Some people say that the federal government wants to interfere in areas under provincial jurisdiction. If you look back on Canadian history, you can easily, very easily see that the federal government has constantly impinged on provincial jurisdiction, and I think it is because-
Speech From The Throne January 27th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I think we must be serious in this House, and even if my honourable colleague from Sherbrooke rose to speak to this House, as he has the right to do, his speech reminded me of the death of a swan or, should I say, the agony of a swan. As far as we are concerned, in Quebec we had a choice and the majority prevailed.
Speech From The Throne January 27th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I have listened with keen interest to the speech by the former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada. Obviously he has told us that in this House or in this Parliament, it is six of one and half a dozen of the other.
During the last election, Canadians elected a new government and Ontario has majority representation in this government, luckily for Canada and for its regions. In Quebec, we had another choice and the majority voted for the Bloc québécois. The same thing happened in the West where voters elected a majority of Reform Party candidates.
I think we must give the government a chance to prove itself. Obviously, it will soon have to tackle job creation and deficit reduction. It is true that the former government showed us clearly that it was incapable of solving the serious problems confronting Canada and Canadians let them know clearly what it thought of them.
Speech From The Throne January 24th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member for St. Boniface on his remarks.
I will also take this opportunity to greet all the French speaking Manitobans living in his riding. He just described the state of the Canadian economy and we are all in agreement with what he said.
One thing is certain now, everyone in Canada knows what is going on. People understand the difficult situation we are in. They are now expecting action. Making a diagnosis is not enough, the government was brought to office to take concrete and positive steps to stimulate the economy.
The member also mentioned French speaking Canadians across Canada. Mr. Speaker, I think I should point out that francophones outside Quebec have always relied on the Canadian government for services whereas for us, in Quebec, our motherland, our government has always been primarily the government of Quebec, and that is a big difference.
Mr. Speaker, to conclude, I would like to ask the member, in his capacity as parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Public Works, what his government intends to do, apart from the tripartite program, to create stable and long lasting employment.
Speech From The Throne January 20th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by congratulating the hon. member for Davenport on his re-election. I would also like to tell this House how much I appreciated his comments this morning.
The hon. member for Davenport stressed how important it was to preserve Canada's social safety net. What I appreciated the most was the answer he gave to a Reform Party member who claimed that seniors pensions were nothing more than social welfare. I appreciated the hon. member telling us that this was not the case.
Receiving a cheque does not mean that a person is wealthy. Given the serious crisis we are now experiencing, I believe-and it cannot be said often enough-that we must not cut social services and programs. Instead, the government must target tax shelters which benefit the wealthier members of society. The government must trim the fat in government and review its budget item by item. It must target unemployment, not the unemployed.
In conclusion, I have a question for my hon. colleague who worked in the field of education for more than 22 years. My question is this: What does the government intend to do to restore hope for our young people who are finishing school and have no job prospects?
Speech From The Throne January 20th, 1994
Madam Speaker, first I would like to thank the hon. member for Regina-Wascana for the speech he made in this House. He stressed the importance of his department and, as the Official Opposition's deputy critic for agriculture and agri-food, I would like to voice the concerns of my constituents in the riding of Shefford. There are many farmers in my riding, and today they are very worried.
Last December, I attended the UPA convention in Quebec, and I must say farmers in Quebec and Ontario are extremely concerned about what is happening as a result of GATT and NAFTA. Chicken, dairy and egg producers are very worried, as their future seems very uncertain.
I think the minister made it clear in this House that he intended to expand the role of the Department of Agriculture. Madam Speaker, you know as well as I do that agriculture has never been an important department when the Liberals are in power. However, we hope that this time, after the minister's eloquent speech, agriculture will receive more emphasis, since in Quebec more than 350,000 people depend on agriculture and the agri-food sector. As the minister said so eloquently, this is an area where we can develop markets and an area in which we can compete internationally thanks to the quality of our products. I would therefore urge the minister to stay his course.
We in the opposition intend to monitor very carefully the decisions that will be made by this government. If it does it right, it can be sure that on behalf of all farmers in Shefford, Quebec and Canada, we will support those decisions.
Speech From The Throne January 19th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I listened to what the hon. gentleman had to say and I have to tell those in this House that I was moved by his nationalism and I was deeply moved by the way he sees his country, Canada. I must say that this part of the world is indeed a place where it is good to live and where there are many opportunities. Canada has always been a democratic country.
However, I think it is time now for Canadians all across the country to realize that we must go forward and that Quebecers must now have their own way.
As I said before, I agree with everything the gentleman said about our part of the world. Let us now think of the possibility of living side by side in harmony. I think that is possible. That is why I am now in this House with my colleagues from Quebec and other parts of Canada, to take a stand and make a decision for the future, perhaps the best decision for Canada and Quebec.