Mr. Speaker, I am very glad to have introduced this motion. I was often asked about the origin of the grandfather clause. As many will know, its comes from the 15th amendment to the American Constitution giving blacks the right to vote. But when they came to vote they were told: "You can neither read nor write but if your grandfather voted in the past, this gives you the right to vote". This is why we use, by analogy with this 1869 amendment to the American Constitution, the term "grandfathering" when referring to vested rights.
I readily accept the request of the hon. member of the Reform Party who asked that the motion I introduced be extended to B.C. Tel. Besides, B.C. Tel is already participating, as a partner, to all discussions between Québec-Téléphone and the government and, as my hon. colleague from the government said, the solution that will be found for Québec-Téléphone will apply to B.C. Tel as well.
The minister has recently amended the direction on eligible Canadian corporations, but it is still not enough to meet the needs of Québec-Téléphone since it is still not 50.4 per cent of shares that can be owned by a foreign company. The important aspect of this whole issue, as I believe I have said at the start of my speech, as the heritage minister herself said and as everyone will understand, is to find a solution allowing Québec-Téléphone and B.C. Tel to continue to provide legally and openly multimedia services to the public, but in a way that would protect the cultures of both Canada and Quebec.