Mr. Speaker, I listened attentively to the member's remarks today. He has been very selective in his speech and has forgotten some very important historical realities.
I would like to go back to the period of 1979 to 1981, when the Government of Canada, under the leadership of the Right Hon. Pierre Elliott Trudeau, basically put the foundation in place for the Quebec aerospace industry. The member conveniently did not touch on that period of time; he conveniently overlooked it. This tends to be the basic strategy of the Bloc Quebecois members. They forget the foundation upon which an important industry like the aerospace industry was brought to Quebec.
I remind the member of the government's decision in 1980 when the Government of Canada purchased the F-18A. Almost 80 per cent of the offsets that were part of that contract went to the province of Quebec. In no way, shape or form do I begrudge that because I am a Toronto member, an Ontario member. We celebrated that great purchase under the leadership of Pierre Trudeau.
I also remind the member that it was under the leadership of the present Prime Minister that the decision was taken to get involved with the Canadair Challenger jet. Canadian taxpayers, not Quebec taxpayers, invested almost $1 billion into research and development to lay the foundation that led not only to the Canadair executive jet but also to the Canadair commuter jet, which is now being manufactured in the province of Quebec not just through Canadair-Bombardier but also through various aerospace manufacturers.
I will give a third example. There was a contract given to maintain the F-18As, I believe about four years ago. The actual price submitted by Bristol Aerospace in the province of Manitoba was cheaper than the contract price in Quebec. The government of the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney made sure under his leadership that the maintenance contract for the F-18As, our fighter jet, went to the province of Quebec.
I do not want to suggest that as a Toronto member I resent any of those contracts going to those manufacturers in the aerospace industry in Quebec.
When we talk about what is Quebec's fair share, I can point to a specific example where a Liberal government under the leadership of Pierre Trudeau laid the basic foundation for the aerospace industry, which I recognize is an industry leader in the world.
We have to deal with something that happened during the regime of the last government: the free trade agreement. I campaigned vigorously against the free trade agreement. I campaigned against it for many reasons. One reason was chapter 14 of the free trade agreement, where essentially there was unfettered foreign access to our markets, whether it was for procurement, manufacturing, or investment opportunities. We essentially gave up a big part of our sovereignty under that chapter.
Members of the Bloc voted for, supported and campaigned for the free trade agreement. We must remember that one article in the free trade agreement prohibits us as a nation from dictating Canadian content. So when the member from the Bloc in his speech today talked about the government not dictating Canadian content, the member must realize that his leader campaigned against dictating Canadian content when he supported the free trade agreement. You cannot suck and blow at the same time. The member from the Bloc Quebecois I know is fighting for his people, and I respect that. But we must deal with the truth. The truth of the matter is that we cannot dictate Canadian content.
I believe in the Quebec aerospace industry. When Pierre Trudeau, a great Liberal Prime Minister, laid the foundation to put that industry primarily in the province of Quebec, I believe he made the right decision, not just on behalf of Quebecers but on behalf of all of Canada. The member from the Bloc Quebecois is forgetting a very important factor in any business equation. I want to get to the point about procurement. I have confidence in the Quebec aerospace industry in the sense that it does have the capacity to produce a quality product at a better price.
If we were to promote and support the quality product and competitive price that Quebec aerospace industry operators provide, we could overcome this insecurity the Bloc Quebecois member has about his own industry. Any businessman, if the product is quality and the price is right, will always get the business. Therefore we should not give up on the aerospace industry not having the ability to produce a quality product or service at a quality price. Rather than throw in the towel and give up on the industry, let us rally around it.
I do not believe the member from the Bloc Quebecois has that confidence. Essentially what he is saying today is that we should be dictating that automatically these firms should get the business.
Before the free trade agreement I liked the situation in which we tended to be a little more protectionist. I fought for a more protectionist role. The member's current leader said we do not need that kind of protection. We should be consistent when we are having this debate. If the member would not be so selective and instead would look at all the things in a total equation, I believe he would see that the people of Canada and the Government of Canada have done their absolute best to be fair to Quebec.