Claude Bachand

[Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean, March 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, can the minister at least be honest enough to admit that the decision, made at the very last minute-

[Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean, March 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of National Defence.

The government officially justifies closing the military college in Saint-Jean by invoking the need to save money. However, the total cost of teaching per student is much higher in Kingston than in Saint-Jean: over $71,000 in Kingston compared to $58,000 in Saint-Jean.

Since the minister is so sure that he made the right decision, can he tell us precisely how much will be saved by closing the military college in Saint-Jean, considering the costs of relocation and the need for new facilities in Kingston?

[Collège Militaire De Saint-Jean, March 7th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the closing of the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean announced by the

government has triggered a growing opposition. The authorities, the military personnel and the students of the college, as well as the Bloc Quebecois members, cannot see the logic of such a decision.

In order to reduce spending, the government decided to close the only French military college in Canada and, which is even worse, it will close a college whose per capita training costs are lower than those of RMC in Kingston, and even Royal Roads in Victoria.

The regional action committee intends to oppose this decision and is sending an invitation to all individuals and groups concerned to participate in a demonstration which will take place in Saint-Jean, next Sunday, March 13, to show their disapproval of this questionable decision, to say the least, made by the government.

[The Budget, February 23rd, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I listened very carefully to the minister's comments, and it seems to me there are some figures or details he either failed to mention or mentioned so quickly that I did not hear what he said.

Before putting my question, I just wish he would agree that as far as bases, colleges and infrastructures are concerned, Quebec has always been short-changed. There is no comparison between what happens in Quebec and what happens in the rest of Canada.

For many years, the policy at National Defence was to compensate for this imbalance with substantial military contracts that made up for the lack of military infrastructure in Quebec.

The international situation has changed, however. So much so that the Bloc Quebecois does not protest when a contract is cancelled, as in the case of the helicopters, because although this contract would have gone mostly to Montreal, we preferred to see the money invested elsewhere. We never objected to the cancellation as such.

There is also the new procedure for distributing these contracts across Canada. In any case, will the minister confirm today that Quebec has only 13.8 per cent of all the infrastructures? That Quebec has only 15.8 per cent of defence spending in Canada although it has 25 per cent of the population?

I did not hear him mention those figures. But when he closes bases or colleges in Quebec or cuts as little as 5 cents or a dollar, he adds to the imbalance in this respect.

The figures I mentioned, 13.8 per cent of military infrastructures and 15.8 per cent of defence spending, while we have 25 per cent of the population, if the minister can confirm those figures, would he agree that he is adding to the imbalance by making budget cuts that affect Quebec?

[Collège Militaire De Saint-Jean, February 23rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is a well-known fact that Quebec has traditionally been disadvantaged in the distribution of defence expenditures, of which it receives only 15.8 per cent. With yesterday's budget, the federal government seemed to indicate that such inequity would continue and actually intensify.

The Collège militaire de Saint-Jean, a university-level educational institution, a stronghold of recognized francophone expertise in strategic studies, space science and computer science, the only gateway to a career as a military officer for francophones, the one and only French-speaking military college in Canada, is about to disappear. Removed from this environment, French-speaking military education will become a mere shadow of its former self and be swallowed up by the very unilingual Royal Military College in Kingston.

By axing the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean, which is really a French Canadian institution, the federal government is giving a clear indication of how little regard it has for francophones in Quebec and in Canada.

[Indian Affairs, February 22nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, could the minister tell us the total amount of interest-free loans his department granted to the band council of Kanesatake?

[Indian Affairs, February 22nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, last Saturday La Presse reported that Kanesatake was in financial straits. The Department of Indian Affairs reached an agreement with the band council to address this financial crisis.

We have also learned that the government has ordered an internal review on the management practices used by the band council. Will the Minister of Indian Affairs agree to table in this House the outcome of this review?

[Federal Grants, February 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I think that the minister has his dates wrong, because our leader was not a minister when those events took place; he had resigned before 1990. He could not have authorized that particular payment.

Could the minister tell us in what capacity Mr. Jerry Peltier worked for the Minister of Indian Affairs before the Oka crisis?

[Federal Grants, February 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, in La Presse this morning, Mr. Jerry Peltier was reported to have received various federal subsidies both before and after becoming Grand Chief of Kanesatake. Apparently, in 1991, Mr. Peltier received in excess of $58,000 over a period of just six months.

Could the Minister of Indian Affairs confirm these allegations to the effect that Mr. Peltier has been paid retroactively $25,600 in fees for services rendered to the government during the Oka crisis?

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, in view of how widespread the problem is on Mohawk territory, can the Solicitor General tell us if he has specifically instructed the RCMP to work closely with the Mohawk police to put an end to violence on these territories?