Mr. Speaker, I was very interested in the member's comments about his constituency in the area of the eastern townships. I had the pleasure of having him visit my constituency of Kootenay East about a year and a half ago when we were doing some work on the European Union meeting. He will be familiar with my constituency which is probably not too dissimilar to his.
I would like to advise him that it is not just a case of British Columbia, Quebec, Prince Edward Island or Manitoba. There is no selection on the part of the central government to bring in hostile action or activity toward Quebec.
I would suggest that he consider what he learned while he was in my constituency about the kinds of primary activities many businesses in my riding are in, which he has indicated are common to his constituency. Many practices of the central government that are construed as being aimed at or against Quebec are not aimed at or against Quebec. They come from an ignorance based on the central myopic, closed mindedness which exists in Ottawa and is exhibited by the Liberal government time and time again.
It is not a question of picking on Quebec. We only need to take a look at the way the Liberal government of another time brought forward the national energy plan which created a full depression in the province of Alberta. It is just ignorance on the part of people at the centre. It is not aimed at the people of Quebec.
While I recognize the hon. member is here as a member of Bloc Quebecois with the objective that Quebec should become a sovereign nation, he nonetheless should open his mind to this fact: more often than not the problem has absolutely nothing to do with the central government trying to persecute his province or any other area. The persecution is just out of straight ignorance on the government's part.