Mr. Speaker, you will understand that, before coming to the heart of the matter, I would like to join the hon. member for Saint-Léonard and the hon. member for Bonaventure-Îles-de-la-Madeleine in denouncing the remarks made by the member from the official opposition, as well as explaining my feeling of dismay-to put it mildly. These remarks are totally inconsistent with the values we have developed in this country, the values we share and the values we have in Quebec. The transcript will bear witness to this.
I must say that, in addition to his personal attack on my colleague, the opposition member took on aboriginal people as well, saying that they were studying only because education was free. There was something fundamentally contemptuous in these remarks. They reflect the official opposition's deeply held feelings of contempt, a state of mind disrespectful of people and even more of the values they share.
In that sense, you will understand that I join my two colleagues in asking, as a Quebecer, that the official opposition member withdraw his words that I find unfortunate, to say the least. That being said, I will now address the issue raised in the official opposition motion.
Anybody who cares to examine the wording of this motion, let alone its substance, will realize that, once again, the people opposite are basically trying to sell us a bill of goods. They are trying to pull the wool over Quebecers' eyes. That same attitude permeates all their policies. That can be said of the Bloc Quebecois, but also, and even more so, of its head office.
Speaking of not being able to rise above petty politics, we can find superb examples not across the way, but with the Quebec government itself, a government whose concern ought to be to look after the interests of the people. This is a serious matter. What is at stake is the interests of citizens who put their confidence in a government, thinking that it would try to build a better society.
Among the most telling examples of the partisan attitude they cannot shed, I should mention the finance minister's budget. It is a real gem. When you resort to such an important instrument, something so essential in any society, to engage in crass political propaganda, something is really wrong.
Speaking to reporters, Mr. Campeau casually dropped these remarks: "If you vote on the right side at the referendum, we may well live in an ideal world, and there will not be any tax increase. It will be some kind of Garden of Eden". Such statements are a serious matter, coming as they do from the Minister of Finance of Quebec. Instead of indulging in petty politics, talking about the referendum, and trying to take Quebec out of Canada, he should be working hand in hand with the federal Minister of Finance in a responsible way to build a better society, a society our children will be proud of, if only we can tackle the real problems we were elected to settle.
Let us take the issues mentioned in this motion. They are serious issues. When I say that these issues are serious ones, I hear members of the official opposition commenting, a big smile on their face, because they do not really care about these fundamental and contentious issues. When we talk about the demands made by a province, it is important. It is also important for us, the federal government, to seriously consider the de-
mands, to treat them fairly and, as the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs said, to act responsibly.
I must say that I have a lot of trouble understanding all the animosity and fury with which the official opposition is tackling these serious issues, because on this side of the House, as the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs pointed out earlier, we are doing everything we can to ensure that the decisions are made as soon as possible and in all fairness to Quebec and all of Canada.
Since I do not seem to understand, would the official opposition tell me if they would like us to pay without looking at the bills, without checking if it is our duty as federal government to pay for these expenditures? I sincerely doubt, Mr. Speaker, that that is what the people in all the provinces expect from the federal government. What we expect is a federal government which does not waste the taxpayers' money and has a good hold on the purse strings, and that is exactly what we are doing.
In fact, not very well hidden behind this motion is a pre-referendum political strategy. The official opposition wants to create a smoke screen. It wants the people in Quebec to rise to the bait. I think these members are basically scornful, and I am weighing my words.
The three serious issues mentioned in the motion are being used for partisan purposes, for referendum purposes. I must say that I do not agree with that and I do not understand anything any more. They are trying to lay down a smoke screen, but this is of course premature. It is premature because, as we all know, the government has not made a decision yet. On the contrary, it is putting in place a procedure by which it will judge each claim on its merits. Also, instead of waiting for the process to end, the Bloc is trying to turn these fundamental claims of the people of Quebec into a purely political question.
This proves that the Bloc does do not have the interests of Quebecers at heart, but that it is only interested in its own agenda, which is, at the risk of repeating myself, essentially the separation of Quebec.
I believe that Bloc members should sincerely listen to Quebecers. As I often say in this House, we were elected democratically. We were elected for the promises we made to Canadians. It goes without saying that the members across the way are not fulfilling their promises. The government of Quebec is not listening to the people. We were elected because we promised that we would rebuild people's trust in government, that we would have an honest government. We were elected because we said we would deliver, because we said we would tackle the real problems. They elected us because we promised them we would be a basically responsible government. We were elected because people trusted us not to throw their money out the window. And I must say that the people of Quebec want exactly the same thing.
I must also say that, by laying down a smoke screen, the Official Opposition will not succeed in making us react in an untimely or hasty way. On the contrary. In the best interests of the people, the best interests of Quebecers, we will follow a fair process to make sure that the hard earned money of the taxpayers of Quebec and Canada is well managed. We will certainly not fall into the trap set by the official opposition.
Speaking about good government and what the people expect from their provincial and federal governments, I would be remiss if I did not say a few words about intergovernmental co-operation. People elected us to solve the debt and deficit problem, create jobs, restore economic growth, help Canada carve out a place in the new global economy, and develop a labour force of which our country could be proud, which would attract new companies and make Canada competitive not just nationally but internationally as well. Co-operation is the key to all of this.
How can this co-operation exist when you have on the other side of the House and in Quebec-and it is unfortunate-a government which does not want the system to work? We do not have to go very far to find some rather striking illustrations.
Let us take, for example, the last visit of the minister from Quebec who came to Ottawa to meet with the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. Quebecers have to wonder if the minister came to Ottawa to solve problems or to create problems.
When we see the attitude of the members opposite and the attitude of the Quebec government and the minister who just met with our friend, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, I think that the answer cannot be any clearer. But the answer is also unfortunate because the actions of the Quebec government are far from being constructive. It is obvious that these actions are very prejudicial not only to Quebec and Canada today, but also to the future generations.
I have visited Quebec extensively these past few months, I have talked to Quebecers and I can tell you that they are sick and tired of these endless debates. They are really sick and tired of seeing a government in Quebec that is taking steps but in the wrong direction. People want increased co-operation, they want a constructive partnership, they want fiscal consolidation. These are all reasons for us to all sit down together and try to solve these problems as soon as possible so we can start building our economy and create jobs.
When I talk about misleading the people of Quebec, let us think about what happened eight months ago, when Quebecers placed their trust in a provincial political party which, you will remember, spoke of the other way to govern. It reminds me of a federal political party that spoke of the real power. According to the people I met, when they chose the other way to govern, they
wanted a responsible government, a government which creates jobs, a government which is interested in what they have to say.
Well, let us see what this other way to govern in Quebec turned out to be. It is simply a government that governs with its eyes closed and its ears plugged and with only one thing in mind: to achieve its own agenda. And everybody knows that the agenda is the separation of Quebec. It is just unbelievable. This reflects a lack of the most elementary respect for the public and is a denial of the mandate they received from the electorate.
They are trying to give the impression in Quebec that there is something terribly wrong with the present federal system and that some problems cannot be overcome within that system. Of course, if you listen to them, you cannot get anything done within the present system. I say that, if you are prepared to work within the system, in good faith, there is much that can be done.
If governments could get together for two seconds, there are some extraordinary things we could do in Canada today to help this country enter the new era of free trade and maintain its position internationally. There are some eloquent examples of this. When we talk about the real problems, those people on the other side of the House start shouting because they do not want to hear the truth. They do not want us to tell the people of Quebec that they are not acting in the interests of Quebecers.
That is why you hear them shout like that when we, Liberals from Quebec who were elected as well, take the floor. Of course they do not see us as Quebecers because we do not share their philosophy, but we were elected in Quebec, and I am a proud Quebecer, and I believe that if we do a good job we can build a better and in fact exceptional Quebec and Canada.
There are some outstanding examples like the immigration agreement, the agreement on interprovincial trade and the agreements concerning la Francophonie. Finally, there is a lot more we could do, but wasting our time on motions like the one before the House today is not going to help us work in the best interests of Quebecers and Canada.