Mr. Speaker, on March 15, the House of Commons rejected a motion from the Bloc Quebecois proposing that a special committee of the House be struck in order to consider the possibility of Canada's participation in the creation of a pan-American monetary union.
Far from advocating the immediate adoption of a common currency, our motion sought to provide elected representatives with an opportunity to discuss this issue of the future.
Instead of assuming its responsibilities, the Liberal Party, and the NDP, resorted to acrimonious and falsely patriotic arguments. Liberal backbenchers and NDP members spewed claptrap and bafflegab all day long.
Today, the Senate begins examining this vital issue for the future of Quebeckers and Canadians. This is the direct result of the Liberals' lack of leadership, of the Liberals running out of steam and getting weary.
By abdicating the legitimacy of the House of Commons in favour of an obsolete and archaic institution like the Senate, the Government of Canada is making a very telling demonstration to its partners in the Americas of its lack of leadership and vision, this on the eve of a new millennium.