Mr. Speaker, on the day after the socio-economic summit from which they came back practically empty handed, the people of the Outaouais are totally justified in questioning the PQ government's attitude toward them.
In fact, PQ minister Sylvain Simard accused the people of the Outaouais of being responsible for their lack of success at the summit. He stated that they could not accuse Quebec of not doing its share in the Outaouais while remaining uninterested in Quebec and not getting involved, that if they did not adapt to Quebec, they would miss the boat because the federal state would no longer be there to compensate, that they should stop complaining and start acting.
The minister's scorn for our region is unjustifiable. The PQ government must stop its referendum vendetta against the Outaouais and agree to give our region the same benefits as those enjoyed by separatist regions.