Mr. Speaker, I just heard a carefully prepared speech, and indeed a very eloquent speech, from the hon. member, who said that Canada is the envy of the whole world.
This sort of talk is starting to get on my nerves. Canada's debt is close to $600 billion, our situation is like that of some 60 developing countries, and we are on the edge of the abyss, but we keep saying: Yes, it is a great country. Rather, it was a great country, but this is no longer the case, it is on the point of collapse. Why? Because the federal government insists on directing everything from the top, on centralizing all responsibilities in Ottawa.
We are well aware that duplications cost between $2 billion to $3 billion. And that is not all, however. Just take, for example, our government's fascination with spending. It spent so much money, from the 1970s until 1989, that inflation was the result. The rate of inflation was jumping by 10 or 12 per cent per year. I recall that vividly.
What actions did the government take, even if it was responsible for that inflation? In the 1980s, it had to raise interest rates up to 21 per cent, which killed the economy and created a terrible recession. A great number of small and medium-sized firms in Quebec went bankrupt. That is very sad.
Some lost their jobs and experienced a lot of problems. I know many business people who worked very hard and who still went bankrupt in 1981-82. Why? Because the federal government itself generated that inflation. It increased interest rates to such a level that they killed the economy.
The federal government was the cause of that inflation and it was also responsible for the recession. All that happened because of its spending power. The federal government generated the inflationary spiral because it was intent on showing that it was indispensable, that it was giving money in every sector, including economic development and tourism.
The same thing happened between 1984 and 1990. Again, the government was responsible for the inflation. It also brought on the recession in 1990. From 1990 to 1994, it increased interest rates and triggered a recession. Once again, a lot of Quebec entrepreneurs and small businesses suffered. Some of them work 15 hours a day to build their businesses. So, the federal government is the cause of the recession and all these problems.
This is why we want some stability. Stability does not mean that the federal government must control everything and spend the way it does to prove it is indispensable.
The problem with our current debt of 500 to 600 billion dollars is that people are no longer interested in investing in our country. They no longer want to invest because interest rates fluctuate by 10 per cent every decade, while the value of the dollar can be anywhere from 70 to 90 cents. How can an investor who wants to export in the U.S. be interested in settling here, when interest rates vary by 10 per cent over a five or six year period, and when the unemployment rate fluctuates between 10 and 20 per cent?
There are pulp and paper companies which do well and then, all of a sudden, they go belly up. Why? Because the value of our dollar fluctuates. And why does it fluctuate? Because the federal government does not know how to manage. Because it spends too much in the hope of proving, to Quebecers in particular, that it is indispensable.
These are the reasons why we have decided to take control of our destiny. We do not want to fall in the same deep hole as this federation, which does not understand the need to decentralize, so as to improve our efficiency and ensure our success. Indeed, we want to become sovereign because we do not want to fall in the same deep hole of federation.
The hon. member for Saint-Léonard made very interesting comments. He had a nice speech prepared in advance by his friends. In fact, the Prime Minister himself probably told him what to say. I am convinced that the hon. member does not believe what he said, because he is an accountant. He understands my point very well, and I am convinced that he agrees with what I said.