Yes. The Power jet set. In this case, they found $20 million just like that. So, it is not so difficult to find $20 million. But when ask for five, six, even seven years to resolve the problem in Quebec, to settle Quebec's legitimate claims, they politely refer us to their civil servants. Even a Jesuit-and God knows that Jesuits are supposed to know everything-would lose his way in this complex maze of negotiations.
I listened to the member for Saint-Léonard who praised this great country where civic rights and freedoms are recognized and respected. I will merely remind him of the 1970 War Measures Act, the patriation of the Constitution in 1982, the spying on political parties which was thought to have ceased in 1970, although it was recently discovered that members of the Reform Party are still being spied on, and the same probably goes for us as well.
These are the freedoms referred to by the member for Saint-Léonard. Some also spoke of transparency. I nearly choked. Transparency! As if the Pearson deal was transparent. A man named Nixon-we were not the ones who chose him-studied the famous Pearson deal. His conclusions were that there was something fishy. He recommended to the Prime Minister that an inquiry be conducted in this matter.
I remember the Minister of Transport answering my questions in this Chamber, saying: "Come on! Let us move forward. We do know that some individuals tried to take advantage of it". He could not deny it, the Nixon report said so, but he was saying: "Let us move forward, and quickly. Let us settle this whole matter. It will cost a maximum of $25 million".
We can see how high the stack of bills is now. It is estimated that claims of all kinds for breach of contract will total $450 million, and there are more to come. And yet, we demanded, we asked for a royal commission to get to the bottom of this. But no, it was urgent to proceed quickly and settle the whole thing, regardless of the cost. What openness! Examples of this kind of openness are legion. The heritage minister was not being very open while lunching in a room next to the one where the fate of the Canadian film industry was probably being decided.
Once again, he lacked openness. This is another example of openness. For the first time, a CRTC decision is being reviewed, at the request of the cabinet; by a strange coincidence, which, I know, has a hand in a lot of things, it involves close relatives of the Prime Minister, who stand to gain a lot. This is happening in
this great country which is so dear to the member for Saint-Léonard as are the underlying principles of federalism he described.
I could perhaps talk about the underlying principles of federalism. They are nothing to write home about. Such noble principles.
I remember reading, not too long ago, that when we joined this country in 1867, about 50 per cent of the population was French speaking in all four provinces and 50 per cent, English speaking. At the time, we paid 300,000 pounds sterling to buy the Northwest Territories, Rupert's Land, which today is Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta up to the Rockies. We bought that from the Hudson's Bay Company for 300,000 pounds sterling at the time. Do not ask me how much it would be today, probably as much as the national debt.
It remains that 50 per cent of the people who paid for that were Quebecers, and they gave it away, for nothing, to those who developed western Canada. Now they are telling us that we are crybabies, that we are constantly asking for things we have no right to. No matter what the hon. member for Bonaventure-Îles-de-la-Madeleine might think, we paid for western Canada.
If he wants to make some gifts, he should pay for them with his own money, not with other people's money.
He said that people would give everything to live in this country of ours. Yet, after the Minister of Immigration announced he would be charging $900 to those who apply for immigrant status, there was an uproar. People do not want to pay even that much to come here. They think it is starting to be a bit pricey. When making speeches we sometimes say things which are far removed from reality. He almost said, at the end of his speech, that we were pretty lucky to be part of the G-7. For us, being part of the G-7 is as bad as being part of the Winnipeg Jets.
Ross Perot said, in the United States, that we were beggars on horse back, that we had no business being in the G-7, given our structure, our wealth, our economic activity; that the only reason we were there is because the Americans needed our vote to support them, to support their proposals. It is for that reason that they put pressure on to get us in the game. However, we are part of the G-7. When we compare ourselves to the other member countries, we always come out seventh. Ross Perot said that we are there because of their goodwill.
Some people lack the judgment to realize that it was, indeed, a matter of charity. They see that as an honour. He said, as if he were the one who created it, that Canada was beautiful. I like to think that Canada was created by the Creator, not by the Liberal Party of Canada.
I could say that Liberals made much more nasty things than good ones. They should not try to take credit for the great accomplishments of the Creator.
That being said, I think that Quebec's claims are justified, that Quebec must go ahead with them and that all of us, in this House, will always insit that what is Caesar's be rendered unto Caesar. The money coming from Canadian and Quebec taxpayers ends up in the federal treasury. Thirty seven cents out of every dollar go to service the debt.