Réal Ménard

[Committees Of The House, November 7th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their consent. I also thank the government, the member for Brome—Missisquoi, and our Senate colleague, who made it possible for us to work in a calm atmosphere culminating in almost complete unanimity. I wish to emphasize that the Bloc Quebecois is very much in favour of and very pleased with the contents of the report tabled.

We hope to be able to follow up as quickly as possible on the vote to be held in the House. Once again, we have the feeling we are favourably representing the will of the National Assembly and think that this is a very positive occasion for all parliamentarians.

[Immigration, November 7th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, when does the minister intend to adjust the charges to reflect only the services provided by her department and nothing else?

[Immigration, November 7th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

There is an agreement between the federal government and the Government of Quebec that permits Quebec to provide most services to immigrants newly arrived in Quebec.

How does the minister explain the fact that charges Quebec immigrants have to pay are the same as in other provinces?

[Social Housing, November 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is to the minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The federal government has indicated that it intends to withdraw from social housing. At the present time, the federal government is spending about $2 billion on housing. To date, agreements have been signed with Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and New Brunswick.

Could the minister bring us up to date on the negotiations between his government and Quebec in the area of housing?

[Tobacco Legislation, October 22nd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, at the present time, some major projects have been suspended at the Montreal Grand Prix site and those involved say that the Grand Prix will be finished, after 1998.

Does the minister realize that the delay resulting from his inaction is causing irreparable damage to the survival of the Montreal Grand Prix?

[Tobacco Legislation, October 22nd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, because a government refused to listen to the Bloc Quebecois members when its anti-tobacco legislation was being passed, it is now in the process of compromising the survival of the Montreal Grand Prix.

The clock is ticking for sports and cultural events, and I would therefore ask the Minister of Health the following question: When will his anti-tobacco legislation be amended? What are you waiting for, Mr. Minister?

[Privilege, October 7th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I believe that, with all due respect for your decision, if you were to agree to consider the motion, you would find there was agreement. That is because each hon. member who has used the services of the legislative counsels in the past to draft bills knows just how time consuming that is, without the proper resources.

I know you have been extremely attuned in the past to our task as legislators, but how can anyone seriously claim in this House that our privileges are not being violated when the situation is such that gaining access to legislative counsel has become extremely complicated?

I remind you that a committee addressed this matter only four months ago, with the suggestion that more legislative counsels be added, contrary to what has been done recently. It is a fundamental privilege for each member to be able to act as the spokesperson for his community and to be able to introduce private members' bills.

Everyone is well aware that the complexity of the matters dealt with, the complexity of the subjects the hon. members must debate in order to properly speak for their communities, require us to have access to a level of expertise such as the legislative counsels possess.

I truly believe that there is unanimity in this House. Let us recall the time, not so long ago in parliamentary history, when private members' business was allotted far more time. If the work of the legislator is to have any meaning, it is important that we be equipped to be able to introduce private members' bills.

I believe our colleague deserves our gratitude today for bringing to your attention the fact that our privilege is being infringed upon by the lack of resources.

[Speech From The Throne, October 3rd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, it is always a pleasure to see you again.

I want to congratulate the member on his re-election. I am aware of his commitment to international causes. I was very aware of the congratulations he directed to the company in his riding, when it decided to do business in Hull. It gives me an opportunity to enlighten him from a slightly different perspective on his understanding of the Quebec problem.

Is the member aware and would he acknowledge that for at least 40 years there has been a succession of governments in Quebec, each more legitimate than the last, which has given rise to the process of constitutional review. Should the member take the trouble—if he ever has the time, the desire or the interest—he could no doubt come up with a list of the demands made by the various governments on language, fisheries or immigration. There are some thirty of them.

Would the hon. member be prepared to admit that, since Quebec is the only francophone province in this part of North America, for his government to consider all provinces equal would be absolutely suicidal, deadly and incompatible with the survival of Quebec?

Would he be prepared to rise in his place and say that, because Quebeckers are French speakers in North America, his government can no longer talk of homogeneity, because such talk would essentially put an end to any future for Quebec.

[War Criminals, October 3rd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

Today, the media are reporting that a committee appointed by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration has stated that Canada makes it too easy for war criminals to enter the country.

Can the minister tell the House how many war criminals her department has currently identified in Canada?

[Speech From The Throne, October 3rd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to congratulate the minister on his re-election and wish him the best of luck in his new job.

I am very tempted to remind him that the last time he rolled up his sleeves and got down to work, it was to make cuts in transfers to the provinces, but that is not the point I want to discuss with him today.

I know the minister shares my concern about the national AIDS strategy. Some $40 million is to be spent in the next few years to fight AIDS. Of course all diseases are important. All degenerative diseases, all diseases that cause suffering are important, except that AIDS is a viral disease. We know the ways in which it can be transmitted, and we know we could get this epidemic under control.

I also know that the Minister of Health has proceeded with an evaluation of the strategy, and I may recall it consists of five main components. It makes it possible for community groups to provide services locally. There is also a research component funded by the community strategy. There is also a treatment component. There is a component for co-ordination, and there is, of course, the laboratory centre for disease control which is more concerned with epidemiology.

I have two questions for the minister. Could he let us know what he intends to do about component three of the strategy, considering that his department is proceeding with an evaluation? I also want to remind the minister that when I was vice-chairman of the committee, I had the privilege of presenting a motion that was accepted by the government, as a result of which we spent three years examining the whole issue of AIDS.

I may recall that we spent some time discussing drug licensing. We found that the health protection branch had far fewer human resources than its U.S. counterpart. Furthermore, a number of witnesses suggested we might consider a joint licensing process for the United States and Canada. Has the minister had time to consider this?

Those are my two questions. What direction does the minister intend to give the national AIDS strategy and is he considering the possibility of resorting to joint licensing by the United States and Canada to accelerate the process?