This is indeed a disgrace. What is even more regrettable is that the federal will, once more, impose the same medicine to all the regions of Canada. Well-meaning civil servants will decide, from Ottawa, what is good for the regions and other civil servants, also well-meaning, will apply the decisions made in Ottawa.
Decentralization is presented as the way of the future but Bill C-91 shows that the federal government has no use for regionalization. The Government of Quebec is trying to decentralize certain powers and give regions the money they need to exercise them. Bill C-91 goes blindly in the opposite direction. At a time of cuts, when money is getting scarce, with Bill C-91 the federal government is opting for a less cost effective solution simply because it will get increased visibility. This is very sad for taxpayers.
The federal government would rather withdraw from social programs and use taxpayers' money to intrude needlessly on Quebec structures designed to deal with small and medium size businesses. These political choices are not made in the interests of regions but rather in the interests of the federal government. Therefore, I will oppose Bill C-91 because I respect the work done by the Government of Quebec and by regional stakeholders, and because I also respect the choices they have made. Using these means to foster the popularity of the federal government among the people cannot be justified.
I could mention all the duplications that are already costing taxpayers so much because they always end up paying the bill through their municipal, school, provincial and federal taxes. Let us take for example manpower training. It should come under provincial jurisdiction. Yet, because of this duplication, the federal government spent needlessly, in Quebec alone, $265 million in administrative costs. We are literally stepping on each others toes.
I have no objection to the federal government meddling in provincial affairs. It can show off its spending power all it wants. But it should start by paying its own debts. We had to fight, in this House, to obtain that the federal government pay its share of the 1992 referendum, a promise made by the previous Prime Minister that the present Prime Minister wanted to renege on.
The native crisis in Quebec cost hundreds of millions of dollars and we are still negotiating the federal government's
share. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, rest assured that the Bloc Quebecois will oppose this bill that we consider totally useless.