Michel Gauthier

[Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean, March 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, before making the regrettable decision to close the only French speaking military college, did the Minister of National Defence ask for a complete review of the financial impact of maintaining two colleges with a reduced number of cadets, based on established objectives? Did the minister have a complete and accurate review done?

[Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean, March 16th, 1994]

Before making the regrettable decision-

I realize that it hurts to hear the truth-

[Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean, March 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on several occasions last week, we demanded that the government provide specific figures concerning the closure of the Collège militaire de Saint-Jean. We did not get a satisfactory answer from the minister who, yesterday in committee, only gave incomplete figures, with no breakdown whatsoever, which do not reflect.

[Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean, March 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is rather strange to learn that French speaking officer cadets can obtain their training in civilian universities, whereas it is not the case for English speaking cadets. According to the Prime Minister's reasoning, Kingston should also be closed.

[Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean, March 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, would the Prime Minister agree that the compromise made by the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs serves only one purpose, to help the government get rid of parts of its commitments to bilingualism just for one dollar?

[Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean, March 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we have learned with dismay that the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs is playing with the future of the Collège militaire de Saint-Jean as if he were playing poker. He will certainly come out a loser. In any case, his partner, the Minister of National Defence is clearly not in agreement with him. The Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs said: "According to the agreement I saw with my own eyes, all operating costs, including taxes, would be paid by the province since it would have access to the installations free of charge and would have the possibility of using the Collège for educational purposes." He further said: "The property is worth $41 million, we are offering it for $1 a year".

Given this declaration of the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, should we understand that the government is preparing not to give, but to lease the Collège militaire to the province and wants to keep a tight control over its installations while transferring all the costs to the government of Quebec?

[Fight Against Poverty, March 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's answer will not satisfy families that are below the poverty line in this country. The Prime Minister is probably aware that in Canada, one child out of five is living below the poverty line.

Would he agree that considering ways to cut social programs in Canada does not constitute a comprehensive strategy to fight poverty? Would he agree that his responsibility should be to put in place a comprehensive plan with specific strategies to give new hope to people who are poor?

[Fight Against Poverty, March 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, does the Prime Minister realize that according to a very thorough study by the Conseil scolaire de l'île de Montréal, Quebec has the largest number of low income families of any province in Canada, in other words, 31.8 per cent of all poor families in this country, and that cutting and restructuring social programs to save money is not going to restore people's dignity and provide jobs? What does the Prime Minister of Canada intend to do to change a situation that has become very bad for families in Quebec?

[Fight Against Poverty, March 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, a genuine movement is taking shape in Quebec, led by prominent citizens

including academics, bishops, union leaders and business people, to take up the fight against poverty, which is affecting an increasingly larger segment of society.

Instead of proposing measures to eliminate poverty, the latest federal budget merely aggravates the problem by shifting many people who would normally have access to unemployment insurance on the welfare rolls.

Will the Prime Minister admit that Canada is getting poorer and poorer and that an increasingly large proportion of the population is suffering as a result? And could he explain what he, as the Prime Minister of Canada, intends to do to give new hope to four million people who are living below the poverty line?

[Business Of The House, March 10th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I would like the Government House Leader to tell us what the business of the House will be for the next few days.