Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, may I make it clear that the Prime Minister has already said that this is a government bill and it will be presented to the House on that basis.

Matthew Coon Come  Speaker, I was saying earlier that there is freedom of speech in Canada as well as in the United States. No one, anywhere, is supposed to have his or her speeches cleared by the ambassador. People make speeches and if the hon. member does not agree with them, he can answer them. The audience of the Cree grand chief is known. The hon. member can write and put the facts straight.

Justice  Individuals are accountable for their conduct notwithstanding their intoxication. The message must be loud and clear: Drunkenness is not a defence. I ask the Minister of Justice to promptly legislate this common sense rule for the integrity of our justice system and for the good of Canada.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  In concluding my short remarks, I must say that this government once again demonstrates and makes it very clear to all members of this House and to the Canadian people that this entire rationale for the heritage ministry is undermined by the very actions that this government is engaged in even as we speak.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  I say an industrial market, because the Minister of Industry prefers the American copyright system to our copyright and neighbouring rights system; there is no clear choice yet, even though the Minister of Canadian Heritage must favour the latter since it is the only one which recognizes creators' efforts and highlights culture. All these considerations and a lot of others, which could be debated for months and months, make it only more apparent that the bill, as tabled, does not give the Department of Canadian Heritage the mandate it should have.

Department Of Natural Resources Act  We have had too many experiences in recent years with natural resources where there was a visible conflict between a natural resource, concepts of management and sustainable development. It is time to cut this umbilical cord and give very clear direction to the department in charge of such an important natural resource for the long term. We have sufficient examples that have already brought about the adoption of long term considerations on the part of this government, and I am glad to see the minister of fisheries in the Chamber who has done so already on a number of occasions, and very courageously so.

Lester B. Pearson Act  As well, I do hope to pay some tribute to the former Prime Minister because it certainly is worthy. It is clear from the member's speech that he holds the former Prime Minister in very high regard. I would never fault him for this since Lester Pearson did indeed leave the country a considerable legacy.

Lester B. Pearson Act  Pearson took on many of those challenges. He realized that Quebec no longer wanted to live under British symbols. That was very clear in his mind. That was the reason he put forward such a fight for the Canadian flag. The Quebec caucus strongly supported him on that issue all the way through even when the going got very difficult.

Social Security Program  We must not consider only how people at the bottom of the scale abuse the system. The system is also abused by people all the way to the top. Our position is extremely clear and is illustrated by a colourful image: when you want to clean a staircase, you clean it completely, not just the bottom step or the two lowest steps. You start at the top and work your way down.

Petitions  Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am presenting a petition on behalf of British Columbians from all regions of B.C. on anti-firearms legislation. I think the directions are so clear they should be read: "That Justice Minister Allan Rock is proposing anti-firearms legislation that will virtually do nothing to reduce violent crime, but will severely restrict the rights and freedoms of millions of innocent firearms owners, contrary to the very principles of justice".

Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean  We have made statements in the House on other occasions, and I think our position is quite clear. I have to say that much of what the hon. member asserts in this particular matter is absolutely false. We are not going to revisit the fact that the budget last year called for a certain reduction in expenditures in defence.

Education  I wonder how much time has been allocated to each of the 165 organizations whose noses are still in the public trough as they received almost $4 million in intervening funding. It seems clear to me that the Liberals are following the previous government's actions of talking to whom they wish and then having the audacity to call it public consultations. Canadians are not stupid.

Privilege  I appreciate the hon. member's attempt to tie his argument to this portion of the citation. However, in carefully reading Speaker Jerome's ruling, it is clear that the point he was trying to make, and this is important for us today, was that it is necessary to look at our conduct in this matter. This, I feel, can only be done if specific allegations are raised about the conduct of a specific individual or group of individuals, as the Speaker ruled in 1977.

Access To Information  Because the issue of the Crow benefit is of incredible importance to the farmers and the communities that they support in northwest Saskatchewan as well as across the prairies, I thought it was appropriate to clear the air and let farmers who are now just starting to plan next year's crop know where they stand going into that crop year. Those conflicting reports were numerous. During the month of October when he was touring Asia, the Minister for International Trade said he wanted Canada to eliminate all farm export subsidies including the Crow benefit and indeed prohibit any new ones.

Social Security Programs  They told me: "Yes, we know this has to happen and your presentation has really made it that much more clear, especially in regard to the aging population and the number of people on pension".