It would indeed seem that, here, in Canada, it is quite a different story, depending on which side of the House you are sitting.
Also, one can wonder whether or not the government is getting ready to offer a "sweet deal" to this company.
At any rate, let us come back to the remarks made by the defence minister on Radio-Canada's program Enjeux in April. As I said earlier, the minister had stated on that occasion that Quebec was receiving its fair share of defence procurement. He said so. Now, if Quebec, and Oerlikon of Saint-Jean in particular, is literally excluded from the $2 billion APC acquisition contract, which was awarded to Ontario, and if Quebec is not guaranteed any benefits arising from the $600 million search and rescue helicopter contract, what does this leave as Quebec's fair share?
That is hard to predict, since the federal government is announcing its defence acquisitions in a piecemeal fashion, one slice of baloney at a time, in the hope, of course, that taxpayers will find the pill easier to swallow.
That way the bill does not seem as steep, but if you add everything the result is the same. However, according to the most recent statements made by the defence minister regarding that issue, we can presume that the government is about to buy, at a cost of more than half a billion dollars plus several other considerations, four used submarines that England is no longer interested in. That country wants to get rid of these submarines and we are going to buy them.
We will buy four old submarines which are no longer in use. This is what we will get. We will then be better protected. What do you think Quebec could get out of such a deal? As I just said, there is every indication that these are British submarines. Quebec will obviously not get anything out of that deal. But it will have to pay its share, its 25 per cent. Quebec always gets 13, 14 or 15 per cent of everything, but it pays 25 per cent. This is unacceptable.
The government's new policy no longer requires any Canadian content, unless of course it applies to a procurement contract which can help Ontario increase its large share of federal defence spending. This creates a double standard. There is one policy for Ontario and one for the rest of Canada. I can only conclude that Quebec which, as we all know, is far from receiving its fair share of federal military spending, will continue to be greatly and unfairly penalized by this government.
It is no wonder that more and more Quebecers feel that the only alternative is, to be sure, a sovereign Quebec. Quebec's sovereignty will soon become a reality and, when that happens, Quebecers will turn their backs on these injustices, which cost them dearly.
In conclusion, I have no choice but to blame the federal government strongly for giving up the Canadian content requirements in military procurement contracts. These requirements were among the last guarantees that, some day, Quebec might get its fair share-no more and no less-like the others in Canada, that it might be recognized as a province, and that it might get what it is entitled to.
Therefore, I join with our defence critic, the hon. member for Charlesbourg, in blaming the government for its current action.