Madam Speaker, the distinguished colleague who spoke just before me, a member of the Reform Party from the west, criticized the members of the Bloc Quebecois for defending our country, Quebec. I would like to give him a short history lesson.
In 1837, the Government of Quebec was dissolved from London. Three years later, in 1840, Lower and Upper Canada were united-an easy matter because there was no longer a government in Quebec. The problem, however, was that Quebec was thrifty and did not want to go into debt like the government has since 1970, surely and consistently. Quebec was only 85,000 pounds in debt, while Ontario was 1.2 million pounds in debt.
As there was only one government to decide-the government of Ontario-it was decided that the two debts should be combined into a single one. This is how Quebec has been treated for years. Today, they have the gall to blame us for criticizing injustices. I will not take it. I will not.
Producers in the three western provinces are being offered $1.6 billion, interest and tax free, in compensation for the disappearance of the WGTO. They do not even have to declare it for tax purposes. In Quebec, each milk producer is going to be penalized some $5,000 on average and will be receiving absolutely no compensation. Nothing.
The worst part of all of this is that western producers will use the compensation to diversify their production and will move into Quebec markets to compete against us with the help of tax dollars we gave the government. Take hogs, for example. I am talking about the period from 1981 to 1991. After 1991, things tend to intensify and will get worse after 1996. There is no supply management in hog production. Are you aware that, in ten years, western hog production grew by 39 per cent, over 39 per cent? In the same time period, in Quebec, production dropped by 16 per cent. How about that?
In terms of surface used, hothouse production in the west has grown by 67 per cent, while the increase in Quebec is barely 46 per cent, despite the fact that the markets are in Ontario and Quebec. I promise you that, each time we have the opportunity, the members of the Bloc Quebecois will rise in this House to criticize both Liberal and Reform Party members for failing to have a global vision of this country; for never setting foot in Quebec, for the most part; and for claiming that Quebec is still griping and asking for more. We have paid more than our share in this country.