Mr. Speaker, concerning the trade mission in Asia the Prime Minister will lead next November, we want to condemn the highhandedness, to say the least, of some Foreign Affairs officers and of the Deputy Prime Minister.
The federal ultimatum to the effect that the Quebec premier and nobody else should be part of that trade mission is an expression of contempt. It is not for the Canadian government to decide who should represent the Quebec government. Ottawa should not impose an agenda on the Quebec premier. Mr. Parizeau, who has responsibilities keeping him in Quebec City, is perfectly entitled to send a delegate of his own choice.
That is another example of the lack of flexibility of Canadian federalism and of the lack of respect of Foreign Affairs officers for the democratically elected representatives of Quebec.