Michel Gauthier

[Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean, December 13th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday, the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs said that he intended to send some of his officials to Saint-Jean to negotiate an agreement on the basis of the proposal put forth by the mayor of Saint-Jean.

Yesterday, using as a pretext what Quebec's intergovernmental affairs minister had said, the minister reversed himself and refused to delegate his officials to resume negotiations today, as planned.

In view of the urgency of the decisions the staff and their families will have to make and since everyone has agreed to resume discussions on the basis of the mayor's proposal, how does the minister explain his latest about-face, his refusal to send officials to Saint-Jean to resume negotiations today, as he had promised?

[Taxation, December 12th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, does the Minister of Finance agree that the best way to get rid of the underground economy would be to stop taxing the middle class to the hilt, eliminate tax inequities-something we have been talking about for the past year-and introduce a more effective tax collection system, so that all taxpayers will pay their fair share and, in fact, pay what they owe the government?

[Taxation, December 12th, 1994]

Certainly, Mr. Speaker. May I remind the Minister of Finance that the hon. member for Saint-Hyacinthe has for some time reminded him of the need for injecting more fairness into the tax system? Unfortunately the Minister of Finance has always turned a deaf ear, so I am delighted to hear what he said just now.

My supplementary question for the Minister of Finance is this: Would he agree that a tax increase for all taxpayers, as recommended by his colleagues on the finance committee, would merely accelerate the growth of the underground economy, in addition to being a complete reversal of the commitments made by the Prime Minister during the last election campaign?

[Taxation, December 12th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General has warned the Minister of Finance against raising taxes since this would encourage even more Canadians to resort to the underground economy. The Auditor General said that he felt present tax revenues could be improved without raising taxes.

Does the Minister of Finance agree he could improve the government's tax revenues without raising taxes, as suggested by the Auditor General, if he would only concentrate on collecting taxes owed instead of inventing new taxes?

[Draft Bill On Quebec Sovereignty, December 9th, 1994]

If the Prime Minister takes this matter seriously, he will have to answer this question: How can the he question the legitimacy of the consultation process, when it is basically the same one used by the Bélanger-Campeau Commission that was set up by the previous Liberal government, a process in which the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs was a participant? It was all right for the Bélanger-Campeau Commission at the time, but not any more.

[Draft Bill On Quebec Sovereignty, December 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely incredible to hear the Prime Minister criticize the Government of Quebec for setting out its plans for sovereignty in reasonable terms, when he and his colleagues keep saying in this House: Go ahead and tell us what your plans for separation are. Tell us what kind of Quebec you want. Tell us what kind of country you want. Today, however, the Prime Minister says: Make the question short. Do not bother to explain.

[Draft Bill On Quebec Sovereignty, December 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, how can the Prime Minister question the process initiated by the Government of Quebec, a process initiated by tabling a draft bill, when a similar procedure was used in 1980 by the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau which included the Prime Minister, a government that tabled a resolution in this House to initiate the unilateral patriation of the Canadian Constitution?

Why, when he was a member of that government, did the Prime Minister feel that tabling a resolution was acceptable, and why now, because the Government of Quebec is involved, does he no longer feel that this procedure is acceptable? Let him explain that, Mr. Speaker.

[Draft Bill On Quebec Sovereignty, December 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday during the debate on the Official Opposition's motion to recognize the legitimacy of the process initiated by the Government of Quebec to determine its political future, government members repeatedly referred to Quebec's initiative as illegitimate, illegal and undemocratic, while during Question Period, the Prime Minister referred to it as raising unnecessary complications.

How can the Prime Minister refer to the process initiated by the Government of Quebec as raising unnecessary complications, when it is essentially based on two components, a draft bill and a very comprehensive process providing for genuine consultations with the people of Quebec?

[Supply, December 8th, 1994]

Madam Chairman, we are working very diligently. I have a question with respect to rules for the President of the Treasury Board.

Could he give an assurance the bill is in its usual form and that there is no change of votes in the bill?

[Business Of The House, December 8th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I rise with the customary question for Thursday. Would the government House leader tell us what the order of business will be until the end of this session?