Mr. Speaker, I shall be brief. First of all, I would like to tell my hon. colleague that yes, Canada does have a culture. What I am saying is that we ought to organize along cultural lines, since the economy, the organization of manpower policy, are linked to culture, after all.
The Quebec National Assembly's demand-I could provide a Translation of it, but I imagine the interpreter will deal with it now-goes beyond the educational aspect. It is stated, and it has been adopted unanimously, that Quebec must take over the control and management of various services pertaining to employment and manpower development and all programs that may be funded through the unemployment insurance fund within Quebec's borders.
It is, therefore, a matter of jurisdiction and of encroachment, but for the sake of efficiency. We want to have control over overall co-ordination because we can see the inefficiency of the present system and the great needs. Now he is accusing me of not speaking for all of Canada. Let me tell you, if anybody has travelled across Canada and given voice to the needs I saw everywhere, it is I.
Except that this morning, with the National Assembly resolution, I felt it extremely important to state that these demands have unanimous support in Quebec. I am, however, aware that debates need to be held in Canada on centralization and decentralization. Knowing that I am not able to answer for Canadians on this, I wish for a debate. I think one is necessary.
But the debate is over with in Quebec; this is the consensus of Quebec, the consensus of a variety of groups, unions, businesses, community groups, and so on; it is true for the province as whole, it is true for the regions. So now we wonder what are they waiting for before giving us back the tools needed for results, instead of continuing along with this unproductive duplication and overlap.