Mr. Speaker, previous speeches made in this House pointed out the essentially democratic nature of the Bloc Quebecois and, in this regard, its willingness to respect the integrity and autonomy of the people it represents in every county of Quebec.
One of our party's basic objectives, particularly in anticipation of Quebec's independence, is to exercise the democratic process as widely as possible.
Today we take this opportunity to support government motion M-10 proposing that the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs be instructed to prepare and bring in a bill respecting the system of readjusting the boundaries of electoral districts.
Our goal in supporting motion M-10 is, as you know, to respect the regional integrity of these communities without hampering the regional decentralization process currently taking place in Quebec.
However, the Bloc Quebecois will only support this government motion on certain conditions.
First, we must denounce, once again, the arbitrary and inconsistent new boundaries drawn up in recent years and, in this regard, we must also mention the importance of administrative divisions in Quebec.
Not only are these administrative zones strategically important for Quebec but they are based on fundamental geographical, economic, industrial and cultural elements.
As long as Quebec remains, in spite of itself, a member of the Canadian Confederation, the federal commissions responsible for readjusting electoral boundaries will have to consider regional municipalities, counties and administrative regions.
As we said in a previous speech, our second reservation about motion M-10 is that the decentralization of decision-making powers should, in our opinion, be an essential element of regional policy in the year 2000.
The Canadian policy advocated by a Liberal government big on centralization lacks a socio-economic development perspective.
We see the decentralization of political and economic decision-making as essential to creating jobs in RCMs.
In line with Minister Picotte's reform and the consolidation of regional development councils, the Bloc Quebecois has made a commitment to direct political and economic decision-making to the regions.
The Bloc Quebecois proposes that the State of Quebec no longer act alone in planning coherent economic development. In our view, the general framework for this development must be redefined, starting with the regions. Decentralization of the bureaucratic monster which the central State has become requires Quebec's political sovereignty.
The Bloc Quebecois wants to go beyond changes to the political structure. We recommend regional self-management based on fundamental democracy. We advocate the creation of highly decentralized and antibureaucratic organizations. In short, we reject the authoritarian social and economic management policies which are pursued by the unified political power representing central States and which are ruining the public finances of Canada and Quebec.
A two-year moratorium, during which decentralization of the decision-making process will be stepped up under the Parti Quebecois in Quebec, will allow riding residents to concentrate more on ensuring regional development rather than on building a Canada that can never be.
For all these reasons, the Bloc Quebecois recommends that the entire federal Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act be reformulated, and that the process be undertaken as soon as possible within the framework of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
We must take advantage of the two-year moratorium on the redistribution of electoral boundaries to weigh carefully all the implications of adjustments of this nature to ridings.