Mr. Speaker, in a few short months the contest between federalism and separatism will begin in earnest. Surely the Prime Minister would agree that now is the time for federalism to put its best foot forward, not its worst. Federalism does not put its best foot forward through partisan, patronage appointments to key federal institutions, such as Rideau Hall and the Canadian Senate.
Will the Prime Minister acknowledge that continuation of the Mulroney practice of high level patronage appointments to federal offices discredits the federal system? Will he promise to abandon this practice before it infects his entire government?