Mr. Speaker, we are sceptical, because the Prime Minister says that from now on the law will be enforced throughout this country, no exceptions.
The RCMP's has figures that both confirm and emphasize the figures of the Official Opposition, according to which in 1993, only one per cent of contraband cigarettes were seized by their officers. I repeat, one per cent, while today we heard, as we were told in the lock-up, that 70 to 75 per cent of this unlawful trade was being carried on through Mohawk territory in southern Quebec and southern Ontario. Seventy-five per cent of this trade is carried on in those territories. So far, the RCMP has been unable to improve its score of one per cent interception, and today we are told that 350 additional officers should be able to deal with the matter.
It may be a significant improvement, but there are a number of very serious questions that have yet to be resolved. We have chiefs of Amerindian nations and the Mohawks saying they have arms on the reserves and that any police intervention might cause a blood bath. It might lead them to use the illegal weapons now on the reserves. The question that I should be asking the Prime Minister, and one that will most certainly be put to him, is this: Good God, what means does the RCMP have now that it did not have before to intervene and intercept the remaining 99 per cent of smugglers who conduct their business virtually in broad daylight? Is it that it lacks the means to intervene or does it fear reprisals from persons who are illegally armed?
The Prime Minister informs us that an $8 export tax will be imposed on each carton of cigarettes. I will remind you that a similar tax was introduced in 1992, only to be withdrawn two or three months later because it proved to be completely ineffective. Why could the government not come up with a more original solution that simply to reintroduce a tax that only a short while ago proved to be totally unworkable, inadequate and unenforceable?
In addition, the government has stated forcefully that tobacco manufacturers would be hit with a surtax in order to finance a health promotion campaign. We fully endorse a health campaign. However, what the Prime Minister has failed to say is that there is a danger that the first chance they get, manufacturers will pass on the cost of the surtax to consumers through a price increase. Has the Prime Minister received any assurances that the surtax to be paid by tobacco manufacturers will not, at some point, be passed on to Quebec or Canadian consumers? The Prime Minister was silent on this matter and the whole issue remains unresolved.
Does the Prime Minister not realize that these two measures, namely an export tax and a surtax on tobacco manufacturers, could drive jobs out of Canada. Manufacturers could be inclined to produce the same quality of cigarettes somewhere else where they would not have to pay the surtax or the export tax. Does he not see the danger not only of failing to take highly effective means to get to the root of the problem, but also of driving our manufacturers out of the country? Has the Prime Minister received assurances that manufacturers will go along with this measure, stay here in Canada and pay taxes to finance the health promotion campaign? This question too remains unanswered.
Is there not some risk that the refusal of the other provincial governments to participate in the Prime Minister's action plan will create a serious problem elsewhere than in Quebec? Is there not some risk that the smuggling network, the contraband activity and the illegal sale of cigarettes will move to southern Ontario and to other Canadian provinces since measures will be in place in Quebec to curb this illegal activity? Has the Prime Minister made provision for a mechanism which would ensure that the problem is simply not shifted elsewhere? I remind him that his government would then also be responsible for the illegal cigarette trade outside Quebec. His government would then have to take measures that would be applied everywhere in Canada.
In conclusion, I would simply like to say that the Prime Minister's action plan will have a limited effect. First, only Quebec has agreed so far to come on board. Second, the plan would drive away well paid jobs in the tobacco manufacturing sector. Third, it is not likely that the RCMP will succeed in properly controlling the contraband tobacco trade which is taking place mainly on native reserves. I remind you that thus far, the RCMP's success rate in this area is one per cent. Fourth, I want to say that the opposition supports the anti-smoking measures which have been announced.
We are pleased to see that the questions we raised in this House and the work we have done on this side to compel the Minister of Health to assume her responsibilities have prompted the Prime Minister to include a health promotion component in his action plan. This concludes our comments at this time. However, we will very likely come back to this subject because in our opinion, the government has been trying for three weeks to hide the truth. Now that it has its back against the wall, it proposes solutions that are a long way from being the most effective. A more comprehensive analysis of the situation would have been in order.