Mr. Speaker, I would like to comment on what the hon. member for Nanaimo-Cowichan said about the F-18.
I think it would be a good idea to remind the hon. member for Nanaimo-Cowichan of the historical facts on the F-18. We need to place the F-18 events in their historical context. In this regard, we must remember that during the referendum debate, after our friends opposite got involved, in particular the hon. member for Saint-Maurice, who was already a minister in Mr. Trudeau's Cabinet, Quebecers were promised a carrot: "If you vote against the Parti Quebecois' proposal to give them the mandate to negotiate eventual sovereignty with all related commitments, we promise you, first of all, that the superspecialized F-18 will be built in Quebec". That was the carrot.
And I remember in the 1980s seeing follow-up analyses saying that, according to the experts, the promises were never kept. Either I misunderstood the member from the Reform Party or he does not know-that is his right-but I hope we will no longer hear such remarks, as though Quebecers' concerns were whims, to use once again the words of the hon. member for Saint-Maurice.
I would like to suggest to my dear colleague from Nanaimo-Cowichan, who is responsible for recruiting Reform Party members in Quebec, that such comments will not help him in his task.