As my colleague for Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup suggests, totally unacceptable because this shows a contempt for democracy.
Yet the Minister of Human Resources Development is an experienced parliamentarian. A parliamentarian who has been in opposition for at least nine years. For nine years, and I have read and reread many of his speeches, he has been severely critical of the accomplishments of the Conservative government, as it was his role to do. I find no fault with that. When he was in the opposition, it was his role to criticize government programs.
In this case, he refers to one letter, yet the next day the parliamentary secretary indicated to me that there was a second letter on two projects. As for the projects in question, there was a project sponsored by Ateliers Jeunesse in my riding, a project
called JET created to set up a part time job bank for high school students. It had nothing whatsoever to do with training.
The next day, the parliamentary secretary, substituting for the minister, mentioned another project connected with Youth Service Canada. Sure, I criticized Youth Service Canada, but this was for an incubator program. My complaints about Youth Service Canada were about the fact that the training components contradicted of Quebec's policy on manpower training.
I was consistent in supporting the project submitted under this program because there was no manpower training component. The emphasis was more on an incubator program to help young people create their own business.
I would have a lot more to say about this, but since there is so little time, I would say it is a matter of principle. As I see it, this is blackmail, an attack on our democratic system.
I was elected by the people of my riding to represent them. That was my purpose when I sent projects to the minister for his approval. Now he asks me to support the No side, and if I do, he will approve this project. That is unacceptable.
If it were an isolated incident, I would say it was just a slip of the tongue. In that case, the minister should have said: "Listen, I spoke without thinking. That is not what I meant". But the next day he was not in the House, and he let his parliamentary secretary answer instead, who proceeded to criticize my criticism of this program.
I think that is unacceptable, especially in the present circumstances when comments of this kind keep cropping up. For instance, in a secret document prepared by Industry Canada, companies were listed according to their political allegiance, to see whether the project should be funded.
I think that is unacceptable. I am making this speech today within the precincts of the House of Commons, where we meet as democratically elected representatives. I invoke the right we have in this House to demand that this be rectified, that members opposite on the government side stop their blackmail, because we will not tolerate this.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker, for giving me this opportunity. It seems no one will bother to respond. Very democratic indeed.