Madam Speaker, I would like to follow up on the comments made by the hon. member who just spoke and who said that these are times of change. Indeed they are, as was also mentioned by the Minister of Finance during Question Period.
This is a time for change in Canada, with the arrival of a new federal government, but let us not forget that things also changed in Quebec on October 25, when three million Quebecers elected 54 Bloc Quebecois members to represent them in this House, as well as to protect Quebec's interests and give it real power.
The hon. member raised the issue of poverty. In 1980, the Liberals took 74 ridings out of 75 in Quebec, the hon. Roch LaSalle from Joliette being the only Conservative member. At that time, the debt stood at $30 billion. In 1984, when the Liberals were ousted and replaced by the Conservatives, the debt had risen to $187 billion.
From 1984 to 1988, the Conservative government enjoyed a strong majority, including in Quebec. From 1988 to 1993, Quebec gave a second chance to the Conservative Party. The debt, which stood at $187 billion when the Liberals left in 1984, has now climbed to over $500 billion under the Conservatives, and the Liberals are in charge again.
We just talked about poverty in this House, but it should be pointed out that each day the debt now costs every Canadian and Quebecer $108 million in interest. With these $108 million we could build social housing. We could give some security to our young people in post-secondary education and prevent them from dropping out. We could provide vocational training, thus creating something between the dayworker and the university graduate. We will always need plumbers, carpenters, electricians and other tradespersons. Today, more and more women are seeking employment in non traditional jobs, in construction and in industry for example. It is something we are very aware of in Quebec.
We have heard talk about poverty in this House and bragging about how we were going to correct the situation with the infrastructure program. The Liberals had their chance, the Conservatives had their chance, but red or blue, they are two peas in a pod, there is no difference. I am convinced that at the end of the mandate of this government, the Canadian debt will not have shrunk a bit. Despite all the speeches that are made, things remain the same. We have heard about the minister's speech, which cost $173,000. It is only the beginning, we will see more of that kind of waste.
A number of young graduates from universities or Cegeps must pump gas, because they did not get an education which would have prepared them to take over from those who were there before and built this country. This is why Quebec wants to take charge of itself, Quebec wants to be the master of its own destiny in the fields of education, manpower, health and municipal affairs.