Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking my hon. colleague for acknowledging my intellectual capacities that are recognized all over Quebec. These are very necessary for understanding issues in depth, and yet they have not prevented me from spending the past twelve years in the business world, creating jobs on the international level for Canadian companies that are open to the world.
I would also like to say that I am extremely proud to have been elected to the Liberal team this past March 25, although I am being told I ought to be ashamed of it. I would like to point out to him that I won with 60 per cent of the total vote, whereas in 1993 we got 52 per cent. That means that, even without talking about the GST, we have improved our performance at the polls, while the Bloc has dropped from 39 per cent to 34. I would therefore ask the hon. member to be a little more restrained in his statements.