Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I take part in the debate on regional development. I really appreciate today's motion by my friend and colleague from Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup. I must remind you that regional development is first and foremost a regional responsibility. In my riding of eastern Quebec, as elsewhere in Quebec and in Canada, people know their territory and its resources and how to develop them. Very often, they need only a little bit of money and the support of the local government.
However, yesterday, in preparation for this debate, my staff contacted various spokespersons in my riding. They all said the same thing: "The region has its resources and governments, rather than listening to us in order to help us develop them, do what they please and more often than not fight it out among themselves at our expense obviously". Other people have denounced the attitude of the federal government which not only encroaches on areas of provincial jurisdiction, but also often takes initiatives diametrically opposed to the will of the local and provincial governments.
However, with an unemployment rate of 27.3 per cent in the Gaspé Peninsula and of 17.6 per cent in the Lower St. Lawrence district, efficiency is now a must. In my riding, for example, we have ideas on how to create jobs by using our natural resources like the forest, agriculture or manufacturing resources. We have projects for processing plants, and so forth.
Moreover, very often, the federal government has shown in the last few years its total lack of understanding of the regions' needs. On December 5, 1990, the president and CEO of the CBC, Gérard Veilleux, announced the closing of the CJBRT station in Rimouski, CBGAT in Matane, CBST in Sept-Îles, for a total of about 150 jobs in eastern Quebec and lost wages of almost two million. Not only did we see families leave the area and the regional economy lose these two million-and this is a very large sum for a region such as eastern Quebec-but our shopkeepers, our community lost at the same time a very important means of communication. Now, to hear about the eastern part of Quebec on CBC television broadcast from Quebec city, we must be on the lookout since it is often sandwiched between news concerning Quebec's mayor and his disputes with the mayor of Sainte-Foy on the program "Ce soir". Sometimes there is something about the eastern part of Quebec.
Let us not forget also the bad federal decisions made by the Trudeau government which seem to have benefited the Maritimes. There was a bad decision about Mirabel and another one, taken by the minister of the day, member for Matane, about the Maurice Lamontagne Institute, which was located in Sainte-Flavie when it should have been in Pointe-au-Père. An $18 million wharf was constructed, but no ship ever drew alongside it since there is nothing to protect those that would. In the meantime, the wharf at Pointe-au-Père is rotted out but we do not have the million dollars needed to pull it down, even though it is a public hazard.
The CBC pulled $46 million out of the regions when it closed 11 regional stations across Canada. I remind members that that restructuration cost quite a few million dollars, more exactly $138.5 million, not to mention the fact that the CBC's deficit is far from under control.
Our regions remember this episode vividly, especially the fact that the first thought of the management of the CBC was to cut regional services. This set an example that was repeated many times over.
Another significant example of the lack of respect paid to regions was the closing of post offices. Imagine the contempt of Quebecers or rural Canadians whose post offices are being closed, despite their very important role in the community. The current government has indeed declared a moratorium on post office closures, but it has not committed itself to reopening the post offices which were closed by its predecessor, and people in my riding who were contacted by my office yesterday and who are working on this issue are not at all sure that the post offices will remain open once the moratorium is lifted. On the contrary, some have told us that Canada Post's current lobby would ultimately succeed.
VIA Rail is another example. The government boasts about its infrastructure program, but at the same time, it keeps dismantling other important infrastructures such as VIA Rail when we all know how railways, in regions like ours, do make a vital contribution to the Eastern Quebec economy.
Another example of this government's sensitivity is the National Film Board's decision to close its regional offices. The Carrousel du film, a major festival in the area of audio-visual production for children and the only one of its kind in America, has also been targeted for severe budget cuts. Telefilm, which must reduce its funding of various programs because of cuts imposed by the government, has decided to focus more on large festivals, or those held in big cities. The Carrousel du film, which is a regional festival, will therefore be subjected to cuts. This internationally recognized festival promotes productions for children, a key sector which meets the objectives of acquainting children with quality movies. But, here again, our unfeeling government did not hesitate to make cuts.
Those are only a few examples of what the implementation of so-called national policies leads to. Such policies are dreamed up in a city by city-dwelling bureaucrats and civil servants who do not have the slightest idea of the concerns of people in remote areas.
The first consequence of the deplorable failure of federalism in the remote areas of Quebec is the exodus of adults and young people alike. If you refer to a publication of the Rimouski community health department, called Optique Santé , you will find some fascinating information. The 1991 census shows that the Quebec population has increased by 5.6 per cent, whereas the Lower St. Lawrence is loosing its population and shows a net loss of 2.7 per cent.
This overall drop in the Lower St. Lawrence population is due to a negative balance of migration. Such emigration is one of the main causes of the aging of these communities since it is the most mobile inhabitants who leave, namely the young people and the adults. In short, the failure of the federal regional development policy has had a severe impact on the demographic decline of the Lower St. Lawrence. People in that area will speak loud and clear during the upcoming election and referendum.
This morning, our ability to read was questioned so, to conclude, I would like to quote from John Naisbitt's book entitled Global Paradox . According to the jacket blurb, he is supposed to be quite a genius.
"In the hallmark of genius is simplicity that Naisbitt has brilliantly presented a work which reasonably addresses the challenges of the future while providing the chart for successful navigation".
I will now quote the author.
The breakup of countries (artificially put together) into national or tribal entities is surely as beneficial as the breakup of companies. It eliminates duplication and waste, reduces bureaucracy and promotes motivation and accountability, and results in self-rule (subsidiary) at the most basic level-just like in companies.
This is what the Chilean Minister of Finance has to say about him:
"John Naisbitt's new book is visionary. His predictions will be, as they have been before, right on target".
Quebec's objective is quite laudable. English Canada has not yet understood that we have had enough of not having the necessary resources to fully develop our potential. So Atlantic Canada is a paradise on earth, let it keep on developing! So western Canada has all it needs for its development! Ontario, where most of this government comes from, is still not understanding what is going on in the rest of Canada. But nothing will deter us from our one and only goal: Quebec sovereignty.
