Mr. Speaker, speaking on behalf of the Bloc Quebecois, I want to pay tribute to Joe Ghiz, Premier of Prince Edward Island from 1986 to 1992, who passed away recently.
Born in 1945 to parents of modest means, he was the eldest of five children. He was a law student at Dalhousie University, where he graduated with top honours.
This Premier was particularly well-known for his work on constitutional matters and his defence of the rights of francophones when he improved the francophone school system in his province. He had also hoped to conclude a treaty of reconciliation with the native people. Under his government, the smallest province in Confederation enjoyed exceptional visibility.
More than anyone else in English Canada, he defended special status for Quebec. In January 1995 at McGill University, at a seminar on the future of Canada, he said that since the quiet revolution, English Canada had not understood the legitimacy of the aspirations of the people and the government of Quebec, hence the failure of Meech and Charlottetown. People criticized Quebec's veto, although the accord granted the same privilege to Prince Edward Island. People criticized the concept of Quebec as a distinct society but there was no objection to his province having special status regarding the number of members of Parliament it could elect, irrespective of its population. When Quebec got something from the federal government, it made the headlines in English Canada, but there were no headlines in the Globe and Mail when the federal government moved 2,000 jobs from Ottawa to Summerside and Charlottetown.
Mr. Ghiz understood Quebec. Unfortunately, his premature decease has bereft English Canada of a voice for moderation, of a man who understood the Quebec people and their political aspirations.
Speaking on behalf of my colleagues in the official opposition, I wish to extend my sincere condolences to the family and relatives of Mr. Ghiz.