Mr. Speaker, last week Statistics Canada published the 1996 census data pertaining to the ethnic and racial composition of our great country. According to these data 11% of Canadians are visible minorities.
As a Canadian woman who is black, I salute our federal government for its courage and foresight in ensuring we have hard data about the composition of our society. This information will assist the government in developing good public policy and programs. This ensures equality of all citizens and equitable access for all in every sphere of activity.
As any astute business person will tell you, do your market study if you want your company's product or services to do well in the marketplace. Study your consumers.
Unlike the Reform Party and the Bloquistes, our government does not believe that ignorance is power. Liberals firmly believe that knowledge is power.