Madam Speaker, I simply wanted to assert my rights. As I was saying to the hon. member for Vaudreuil, who is still
listening and who certainly, through the Chair, agrees, I ask him to rise and to tell me whether what I am saying is false.
David Berger was appointed Canadian ambassador to Israel and he is not a Bloc member. He is a well-known Liberal. All the names I have here are those of well-known Liberals.
There is a lady, who ran in Laval East but was defeated. Her name is Raymonde Lacour and she was just appointed on an immigration committee with an annual salary of $84,000. I say to the Liberals that they have become masters at looking after their friends.
Going back to the original question, the Conservatives were not far behind the Liberals. By early October 1994, the Conservatives had filled just about every available and unavailable position with Conservative appointees, usually for a period of five years.
Now, the Liberals will call an election before the five-year terms of these Conservative appointees is over. Consequently, they feel cheated because they cannot postpone it, they cannot distribute the patronage goodies the way they would like to. So, with Bill C-49, they will show the door to just about all the Conservatives who hold these positions, by invoking of course the provisions contained in clauses 5 and 6. They will thus be able to fill the positions left vacant by appointing long-time friends and new ones as well.
I am even told that in the Quebec city area, an old Conservative MP was just appointed to a very lucrative position and is considering, as a way of thanking the government, running under the Liberal banner at the next election. This is quite something and it is even worse considering it is in Quebec.
This is why I was saying to the hon. member for Vaudreuil that, when it comes to patronage, we have nothing to teach the Liberals. They are the undisputed champions of patronage, and they have been since the early days of the Canadian federation. No, we will not try to compete with them in this area.