Mr. Speaker, since it was unable to deliver the changes it promised Quebecers during the referendum campaign, the government has resorted to an old federal standby: creating committees.
Ottawa has made a big thing of the phoney committee chaired by the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, but kept quiet about another committee which will be chaired by the minister of agriculture. Discreet though it may be, this shadow committee is supposed to prompt the federal government on basic directions for change in Canada.
My question is directed to the Acting Prime Minister. By establishing two committees, one supposedly to respond to Quebecers' desire for change and one to discuss the division of powers, does the government intend to keep sending two messages on the constitution, one to Quebec and one to the rest of Canada, as it has done for more than two years?