Mr. Speaker, on January 21 the opposition House leader stood in this House during question period and accused the Prime Minister of vacillation on the subject of fighting the contraband cigarette trade. In fact the member for Roberval said and I quote: "His hesitation is the main reason for the growing revolt among Quebec convenience stores".
In response to this unfounded accusation I would like to share with the House what the Leader of the Opposition, the member's boss as it were, said about the Prime Minister's leadership on this issue: "I think that Jean Chrétien behaved like a Prime Minister-and as such guardian of the integrity of the law". This was quoted in the Toronto Star .
The opposition House leader and his party are trying to take the credit for the Prime Minister's decisiveness and his national action plan.
Canadians know the truth. Canadians understand the complexity of this issue and that the plan including enforcement crackdown, a reduction of consumer taxes, special action on tobacco manufacturers and the largest anti-smoking campaign in Canadian history is not thrown together in a couple of weeks. Months before members of his party were on national TV breaking the law openly, this government was working diligently to put together balanced public policy.
As the Prime Minister said in his statement on February 8, there is no perfect solution but we have come up with a fair, workable and decisive action plan. We must put an end to the terrorizing of entire communities. Canadians are counting on all members from all sides of this House to accomplish this very important task.