Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out to the hon. member for Vaudreuil that he missed something in his remarks. He clearly identified the needs of the small and medium size business sector, needs that we recognize because in Quebec-and there was much talk about this in committee-all the organizations concerned and directly involved with meeting the needs of this industry, not only in terms of development but also in terms of export, have been identified.
Take the solidarity funds, the Paillé project and the regional development fund for example. And now, in the wake of the APEX program, we are setting up in all of Quebec's regions a commissioner of exports system.
The hon. member for Vaudreuil failed to assess the impact of Bill C-91 on regional development. He was careful not to get into the impact of the provision in which the federal government gives itself the power to step in and enter into agreements directly with whomever it wants in Quebec, whether an organization, a regional development council, a municipality, a business or what not.
However, the hon. member for Vaudreuil knows very well that, in terms of regional development, Quebec is the only province where a federal development office called FORD-Q has been established, with offices in every region of the province. No such agency exists elsewhere in Canada. In the rest of Canada, regional development is overseen through agencies like ACOA in the east for Atlantic Canada, WDO, which stands for Western Diversification Office, for western Canada, or FEDNOR in Ontario. And these agencies do not have regional offices all over the place.
This FORD-Q we are talking about is everywhere in Quebec. We call it the delivery arm, seeing that this agency signs memoranda of understanding with other departments, which in turn deliver services, having themselves signed MOUs with the Federal Bank.
We have put questions to the Minister of Human Resources Development and Minister of Western Economic Diversification, the Minister of Public Works and Government Services and Minister for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency as well as the Minister of Industry for Ontario, and none of them was aware of the existence of a delivery arm elsewhere in Canada. None of these development authorities had heard about agreements or MOUs between departments. Incredible efforts are made in Quebec in terms of federal interference in regional development.
I would like to tell the hon. member for Vaudreuil that the position taken by the official opposition should come as no surprise to him. After all, he said that Quebec is a prime mover and a leader in regional development. This fact was stated quite simply.
In Quebec, we have a decentralized sectorial and political structure. The powers related to regional development were delegated to various organizations accountable to the Quebec government. Some of these organizations are present in the hon. member's riding of Vaudreuil, and he knows these structures. There are regional county municipalities, municipalities, school boards, CEGEPs, universities, regional health boards, Quebec manpower development societies, regional manpower councils and regional development councils. All these organizations are established in the province's 16 administrative regions and are accountable to the Quebec government.
Moreover, there is an act respecting the ministère du Conseil exécutif, which provides that the Quebec government is the only authority which can sign development agreements, or any other type of agreement, with other governments.
Yet, through its bills, the federal government is assuming the authority to unilaterally interfere by reaching agreements with organizations which are under Quebec's jurisdiction. This is a flat rejection of a Quebec law, as well as a flat denial of the Quebec government's jurisdiction over regional development.
The legislation on the business development bank of Canada, which seeks to allow agreements with federal or provincial departments and organizations, as well as with any other body or individual, goes so far as to say that the bank could act as agent for such organizations. This is a direct and blatant attempt to take over regional development, by totalling bypassing the Quebec government and dismissing its authority.
I want to tell the hon. member for Vaudreuil that, in August 1991, some of his Quebec Liberal colleagues denounced the establishment, by order in council, of the federal office of regional development in Quebec. Indeed, the Quebec Liberal minister responsible for regional development, Yvon Picotte, was quick to react to the order in council confirming the establishment of a federal department of regional development and the appointment of a deputy minister in that department.Mr. Picotte said that, under the more discreet title of Federal Office of Regional Development for Quebec, the new department could, in the medium term, end up costing Quebec regions a lot. The federal government does not have the expertise to ensure that the subsidized projects will match the regional development priorities that were set these last few years by all of the stakeholders within each of Quebec's regions." He also said: "It is obvious that, with this federal approach, Quebec is faced with a fait accompli through orders in council.''
What do we find in the bills which are central to today's debate? Exactly the same thing. Let us not forget that it was his Liberal friends from Quebec who protested. I should add that the then Minister of Federal-Provincial Relations, Mr. Rémillard, stated on August 8, 1991, that the government of Quebec was determined to stop co-operating with the federal government in the area of regional development.
The Quebec minister reminds us of the conditions for approval-