Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs and again concerns the referendum on the defunct Charlottetown Accord. In 1992, this referendum cost Canada the modest sum of $145 million. The federal government paid $105 million, while Quebec paid $40 million under its election legislation. Need I recall that this means Quebec spent more than its share? In addition to the $40 million, Quebec spent one-quarter of the federal expenditures, or $26 million. So altogether, Quebec spent over $66 million, far more than any other province.
Quebec is therefore entitled to put in a claim to the federal government for reimbursement of these $26 million, its Canadian share, since it had already spent its provincial share.
As I pointed out in the House on May 4 this year, no payments have been made by the federal government to the Quebec government so far. However, the issue has been raised several times by the Government of Quebec, the Bloc québécois and the Parti québécois. Personally, I asked the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs of Canada for some explanations on May 4. I repeat, in terms of dealing with the issue, the evasive response of the minister was certainly not satisfactory.
The behaviour of the federal government certainly defies all logic. Barely a week before the federal election, on October 19, 1993, in response to a question by the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, the former minister responsible for Electoral Reform, Marc-Yvan Côté, who is a federalist, thank you very much, maintained that there was a commitment by the federal government to reimburse the cost of this referendum. Mr. Côté pointed out several times that he had submitted several requests to the federal government and had done so on the basis of a commitment made by the previous Conservative government to reimburse the Quebec government.
This injustice to Quebec is an issue not only for sovereigntists in Quebec but also for the federal government's federalist friends. The Quebec Government has been patient, but we have now been waiting for 18 months.
How can the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs explain the fact that no decision has been made regarding the reimbursement of this amount of $26 million? It is, in fact, a legitimate request which the Quebec government has made several times. How can the minister explain the unfair decision he is making by having Quebecers pay more than their share of a referendum on the renewal of the Canadian federation?
How can the minister explain his decision given the results of the referendum which was overwhelmingly defeated, contrary to what the Liberal Party of Canada wanted to see? Are we to understand from the behaviour of the minister and his government that Quebecers must pay more dearly than the English provinces of Canada its rejection of this agreement? Everyone knows that several other Canadian provinces also rejected the
Charlottetown agreement and the situation with Quebec is still unresolved.
Finally, I come to the conclusion that for some federalists equity does not have the same meaning if it applies to English provinces or to Quebec. The longer the federal government waits before reimbursing the $26 million the Quebec government is entitled to, the more this double standard will become obvious to the Quebec population.