Madam Speaker, before putting a question to my colleague, I must comment the remarks made earlier by the hon. member for Bonaventure-Îles-de-la-Madeleine.
Modest as usual, he sang the praises of the federal government and the Federal Office of Regional Development and their past achievements. He also referred to a United Nations report according to which Canada was number one in terms of quality of life.
I would just like to make one thing clear. This report was based on 1992 data. If my memory serves me right, the Conservatives were in power in 1992. All of a sudden, the very people who criticized the Conservatives for all their political and economic actions are-or so it seems-singing their praises, telling us they have given this country the best quality of life in the world, after saying just the opposite during the election campaign.
These reports and their basis could all be challenged. You probably remember this report on poverty that said: "Canada may be the industrialized country with the highest poverty rate, but to reduce that rate, all you have to do is lower the poverty line". We could go on about this at length. The hon. member also mentioned a grant to the University of Rimouski. Again, I will point out to him that this grant was made by a Conservative, namely Mrs. Vézina-