House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 40% of the vote.
Petitions February 29th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, I have a petition to introduce in the House concerning gasoline prices and the concern about the possibility of introducing a gasoline tax. My constituents are concerned about this possibility and they wanted the House of Commons to ask the government to ensure that a gasoline tax would not be introduced.
Nuclear Testing December 14th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, Don Francis of the coalition against nuclear testing and many of my constituents are outraged at the French's nuclear testing in the South Pacific. They are calling for a ban on the sale of uranium to any country which produces or tests nuclear weapons.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and has become an important reminder of the human potential for global destruction. Conflicts throughout the world continue to be resolved through peaceful measures, and the decision of the Government of France to resume nuclear weapons testing has seriously damaged this commitment.
On December 12 at the United Nations plenary session Canada voted in favour of a resolution strongly deploring nuclear testing.
I share the concerns of my constituents. As a society we must take all necessary steps to ensure our world is free of nuclear weapons.
Employment Insurance Act December 11th, 1995
Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from London-Middlesex. He is a hard working and outstanding member of Parliament who has in the past and who continues to truly represent his constituents.
I will first share with my colleague some of the initiatives and some of the things the government has done so far in the Middle East. In January of this year the government opened the embassy in Beirut. Also we have ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement with Israel and we have approached other countries in the Middle East to have free trade agreements with them. Our support for the private sector is very strong. We are trying to help it explore markets in different parts of the Middle East.
I had the great pleasure of participating in the World Economic Summit in Jordan where in excess of 20 Canadian companies participated. I have also taken a trade mission to the Middle East on a number of occasions. I agree with my colleague that the Middle East is an emerging market that will be the Giant Tiger of Asia in the year 2000 and beyond.
His suggestion for a trade centre is an interesting one. I will be sure to take it to our officials. We have some of the finest people representing us in the Middle East with embassies from one end of the Middle East to the other. We have trade commissioners working extremely hard. At the Department of Foreign Affairs we have a division working day in and day out.
The people in the division responsible for the Middle East and North Africa work 24 hours a day trying to promote trade and help to improve relations between Canada and these parts of the world.
We are delighted to see my colleague take an interest in the area of trade in the region and I would be more than happy to work with him on an ongoing basis.
Constitutional Amendments Act November 30th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member opposite is at it again with his emotional blackmail.
A debate at least two-months long has already been held on the referendum. At times, it was quite intense, very emotional. We heard from both sides, supporters of the yes camp and supporters of the no camp, those who were for Canada and those who were against Canada, those who wanted to give Canada a chance and those who did not.
Those who wanted to give Canada a chance won. The democratic result of the referendum was a yes to giving Canada a chance. On the evening when the results were announced, I was out of the country, unfortunately, but I saw the Leader of the Opposition on television. It was a very emotional moment. I stayed up all night and watched the Leader of the Opposition on CNN International as he said: "The democratic result of the referendum must be respected".
Interestingly that what the opposite of what Mr. Parizeau had said when he chose not to respect the results. At the time, the Leader of the Opposition and leader of the yes camp in Quebec said that the referendum results were to be respected. But what is happening today? Just the opposite. No respect for the Quebec referendum results; total disregard for the basic principle of democracy in Quebec, in Canada and in every international standard.
Nowhere else in the world do you have a group like the one we have here in our federal Parliament, a Parliament representing the people of Canada, Canadians from coast to coast.
In no other country in the world do you see people like the members across the way, rise on their feet and announce with great pride their plans to tear apart the best country in the world. They want to tear apart and break up a great country, a fantastic country.
The Prime Minister said, and my colleagues on this side also said so time and time again: this is not going to happen, because the best country in the world just cannot be broken up. What the government decided to do and managed to do is to present concrete proposals, and we expect opposition members to act with common sense, to respond with common sense, to respect the democratic result of the referendum, to sit down at the table and to negotiate honestly, without any hypocrisy, and to stop using the words "sovereignism" and "independance". They should talk in a positive way, saying that Quebecers voted to give Canada a chance.
Then we would have a real debate. Then we would really be able to talk face to face. So, I ask my colleague if it would not be better for him and for his colleagues of the Bloc to sit down with the federal government and to tell us what they really want. They are not satisfied with that, but what do they want exactly? They want to put that in the Constitution, but they do not say so. They do not dare say what makes sense.
What I have heard today is nothing but blackmail, a history lesson, another explanation of what happened 20 years ago. Several members of that party voted against the Meech Lake accord and the Charlottetown accord. I want to ask the member-
Constitutional Amendments Act November 30th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member spent a lot of time talking about the process and much time lecturing us on the history of the last thirty years.
Like me, millions and millions of Canadians were not here during the last thirty years.
They were not here in 1947, nor in 1911. Millions and millions of Canadians came after that. Like me, these people and the rest of Canada are interested in finding a permanent solution. We are not interested in the process, we are interested in the objective. We want to find a solution which is comfortable for the francophones in Quebec and the anglophones and allophones in the rest of Canada.
Everywhere in the world we see borders being taken down. If you take the example of the European Union, you can see that borders are disappearing fast, even in France.
With the new information technologies there are ever fewer borders between countries all over the world, whether in Asia, in Europe, in Africa or in North America.
I wonder why our colleagues do not stop being so vicious, so idiotic and so indecisive. Why do they not give us a clear picture of what they want? Do we want to built a multicultural, multi-ethnic and multi-community country for all Canadians? Or is the final object the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada?
Indeed, we are wasting time talking about process and history. I was not here in 1841 and I am not interested in what happened in 1841, in 1857 and in 1911. What I am interested in is a modern country, because Canada is the best in the world. The best country in the world, as we were told twice by the United Nations.
I ask my colleagues to focus on the real problems of Quebecers; the real problems are the economy, the unemployment rate and the political instability that are affecting many business people who are thinking about investing in Quebec or doing business with Quebec. Thanks to my colleagues from the separatist party in this House, they are saying: we will wait until there is stability.
Let us hurry up. Let us work with the Prime Minister, with the current government, because this government is willing to find a permanent solution to this crisis. The time has come. The time has come to let go of things that happened 2,000 years, 200 years, 20 years, 30 years ago. Let us talk now about the future.
Constitutional Amendments Act November 30th, 1995
Madam Speaker, I congratulate my colleague on a very eloquent speech.
I had a chance to travel abroad on a trade mission and I met with many government officials in different countries. The first thing they asked me about was what is happening in Canada.
Canadians, including those in the province of Quebec, have to look at Canada from the outside. We have to leave the country for a while in order to appreciate what we have in Canada.
On an annual basis, in excess of ten million residents of other countries want to come to Canada. They believe, as do I, that this is the finest country on earth.
It is beyond me why my colleagues in the Bloc Quebecois will not consider what the government is proposing and try to make it work. Give us a chance to make it work. That is the hope of many of the people in my constituency who have written to me or called my office. They have asked me to stand in the House to call on my colleagues in the Bloc Quebecois to make an attempt to make this work.
I want to ask my fellow caucus member if he has heard from his constituents who have come from different parts of the world. Have some of those people shared their feelings about their love for Canada? If they have, I would like him to share that with the House.
Petitions November 30th, 1995
Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I present a petition to the House. The petition is signed by people from all across the national capital region: Ottawa, Nepean, Gloucester, Orleans and so on. It has to do with same sex benefits.
Petitions November 27th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I would like to deposit a petition signed by some of my constituents, pursuant to Standing Order 36.
Trade November 27th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, on behalf of my colleagues I would like to pay tribute to the finest ever minister of trade and his staff on a job very well done.
Here are the facts. In 1995 to date Canadian exports were 20 per cent higher than for the same period in 1994. Our trade merchandise surplus for September alone was $2.9 billion. By September, Canada's year to date trade surplus with the United States was $5.7 billion, higher than for the same period in 1994. For every $1 billion, 10,000 jobs are being created in our economy.
Trade November 27th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, working groups are now considering this issue. Discussions are taking place. We believe that a proper approach to trade and trade remedies will deal with the issue.
I will take the issue under advisement and bring it to the attention of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food who is in the best position to answer the question.