Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to reply to the various points raised by my colleague across the way.
I believe he substantially misrepresents the clause about which he obviously has some qualms. I believe it is clause 9 of the bill.
It is interesting to note that while the current minister of restructuring of the Quebec government was president of the Quebec Manufacturers' Association he totally supported the elimination of interprovincial trade barriers. Yet when the agreement was signed at the time when Mr. Parizeau was premier he dismissed the agreement as laughable because the dispute resolution mechanism did not have new devices for sanctions or retaliation.
We now hear the Bloc Québécois member saying that the provisions for sanctions are far too strong and are a grab for power by the federal government and would act as a disadvantage to the provinces.
Let me begin by saying that this bill is the result of a long process that in my view demonstrates admirably-