Mr. Speaker, it is rather odd for a sovereignist, leader of the Bloc Quebecois to boot, to say farewell to the leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, who is seeking the leadership of the Liberal Party of Quebec to fight the Parti Quebecois.
After 14 years in this House, the member for Sherbrooke and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party has decided the time has come for him to do something else and move on to another political party.
The member for Sherbrooke, who came to Ottawa in 1984 at a very young age, is leaving today a seasoned politician. He will be remembered as having held several positions in the federal government, namely Minister of State for Youth, Fitness and Amateur Sports, Minister of the Environment, Minister of Industry and Science, and even Deputy Prime Minister during the last month of the Conservative government.
It should also be remembered that, in a sense, he was instrumental in the creation of the Bloc Quebecois. Indeed it was after the Charest report was tabled that Conservative and Liberal members from Quebec left their respective parties to create the Bloc Quebecois.
Nevertheless, I will remember the member for Sherbrooke as a strong political adversary. The leader of the Conservative Party has always shown respect and professionalism during our exchanges and debates. I am convinced he will still behave the same way in his new position in a different political theater. I trust he will carry out his new responsibilities with the same dignity he has shown here in Ottawa for 14 years.
Moreover, on some fundamental issues, I have appreciated his party's support for our position, especially with regard to the $2 billion in compensation Quebec is entitled to for harmonizing its sales tax with the GST. I hope he will keep bringing this up.
I would also like to mention the support the hon. member for Sherbrooke and all members of the Conservative Party in this House recently gave the Bloc's motion recognizing that Quebec alone should decide its own future. As a result, yesterday's enemies and tomorrow's allies, the federal Liberals, found themselves isolated.
Encouraged by his support on this issue, we are nonetheless looking forward to the future leader of the Quebec Liberal Party answering a number of fundamental questions in the new political arena he is about to jump into.
For example, now that he is leaving for the Quebec National Assembly, will he recognize that Quebec is a nation? Will he recognize, as the Quebec Liberal Party has always done, the territorial integrity of Quebec? Does he still believe that the federal government should interfere in areas of provincial responsibility such as education?
Does he still believe that gun control legislation is inappropriate, when a consensus to the contrary has developed in Quebec on this issue since the tragedy at École Polytechnique?
These are but a few of the essential questions the future leader of the Quebec Liberal Party will have to answer.
Now that his career is taking a new direction, I suggest that the hon. member for Sherbrooke always keep an eye on Ottawa and be on his guard with his new allies.
The inflexibility of the federal Liberals, their inability to adjust to new realities and to make the necessary changes to bring Quebec and Canada into the next century are likely to follow the Conservative leader and soon to become Quebec Liberal leader to Quebec like a millstone around his neck.
Having chosen between remaining leader of the Conservative Party and running for the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party, the hon. member for Sherbrooke has another decision to make, the implications of which may be much greater for Quebec.
He has to decide whether to adopt the federal Liberals' constitutional status quo or to fight their do-nothing attitude from within Quebec's Liberal ranks.
I shall not dwell on this point today, as the Conservative leader is leaving and will now have to answer all these questions in Quebec.
I would therefore like to pay tribute to the hon. member for Sherbrooke for his career in federal politics which is coming to an end. As he prepares to embark on a new career with the Quebec Liberal Party, I want to wish him good luck, but not of course every success.
Farewell to the hon. member for Sherbrooke.