Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a few quick comments on what my colleague just said.
Regarding the auditor general, I recall getting the impression from his report that he blamed Mr. Axworthy, to a certain extent, for proceeding with social program reform before thoroughly analyzing the efficiency of Canada's existing programs.
I do not think that we can determine with any precision whether our social programs are efficient based on what the auditor general says. The auditor general has asked the government to review the situation.
My second comment is about what my colleague from the Reform Party said when he claimed that his party's proposals are grass roots proposals. My proposals and the ideas I shared with you earlier also came from the people. I told you that I met with some constituents. I told you that people from Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean asked me to give Mr. Axworthy a petition which 11,000 people signed. Therefore, I can also safely say that my ideas come from the people. I think that people want to keep the social network or social net, which we all have in common.
Now, regarding the opinion expressed that I should be happy to see social programs disappear because I am a sovereignist and because most of these programs are federal, and their disappearance could very well be politically opportune, simply because they are federal, this is not how the Bloc Quebecois sees it. Yes, indeed, we believe that the federal government should leave social programs to the provinces, because social programs do not lie within federal jurisdiction. What we are asking for is a system where the provinces would administer social programs in exchange for tax points corresponding to the cost of administering them.
I think that federalists, like my colleague from the Reform Party, should be more careful when they talk about the importance of social programs, because some Quebecers say that the railway and social programs are what Canada means to them. The railway is being dismantled and so are social programs. Therefore, in the opinion of many people, Canada is also crumbling.
Regarding the question I was asked about social program reform, I agree that the government ought to determine whether each social program meets the end it was designed for. I do admit that, in certain cases, it would be appropriate to adapt the program, and in others, to restrict them because they do not really meet any needs.
In my opinion, Canada must continue to invest in social programs because Quebecers and Canadians are very proud that the neediest people in our society can still live in dignity.
The solution lies in job creation, which will ensure that more Quebecers and Canadians are contributing money to the government. This is how we will be able to sustain the social programs which make us so proud and which make us the envy of many countries of the world.