Mark Assad

[International Women's Day, March 7th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, International Women's Day is an important occasion, and the Canadian government has made concrete, albeit modest, efforts with regard to women.

Since 1993, the Liberal government has appointed 18 senators, 10 of whom were women. Of the 173 judicial appointments made, 59 went to women, which means that 34 per cent of all appointed judges were women. It is a respectable start.

The Prime Minister of Canada did not hesitate, in the last election campaign, to support women by nominating eight women as official candidates for our party. Four of these women were eventually elected and are now serving their constituents in this House.

These are all concrete and positive measures that really help-

[Agriculture, March 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The minister is to lead an agri-food trade mission in the Asia-Pacific region.

Could the minister tell us what the objectives of his mission are and what its impact on Quebec farmers and the agri-food industry in this province will be?

[The Budget, February 21st, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, Quebecers understand the common sense approach behind the recent federal budget and the decision to stay the course on deficit reduction.

The Conseil du patronat has emphasized the importance of assisting small business, and an additional $2 million is being provided for small business expansion and job creation. We should never forget the importance of small business in job creation, and this additional money will have a very positive impact.

The entire research community in this country is pleased with the $800 million being put into research. We should always keep in mind that research is the backbone of all modern economies and a crucial tool of small and medium size businesses.

These measures show-

[Clandestine Work, February 7th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, it is time all levels of government start taking measures to address the issue of the underground economy, which is getting worse. This situation is largely due to the over-regulation imposed by the governments themselves, unions and other stakeholders.

All these regulations have a price, which is paid directly or indirectly by the public, mainly consumers, who find they have to pay a lot of money for services. It is obvious that the problem of clandestine work will get worse.

The time has come to implement reforms to make clandestine work unappealing, not only for workers, but also for consumers. One of the first measures should be that all bidders who are awarded government contracts comply with the law and be subjected to a compulsory verification.

[Women's Curling Championship, February 4th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to report that a woman's team from Buckingham, a city in the riding of Gatineau-La Lièvre, won the Canadian curling championship in Thornhill, Ontario, last weekend.

Agnès Charette, the skip of the winning team of Mary Ann Robertson, Lois Baines and Martha Don, represented Quebec at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce Canadian women's senior curling championship. The team from Buckingham beat the Greenwood team from Ontario in the finals.

This is the first time a Quebec team has won since the women's championship was founded in 1973. Congratulations to Ms. Charette, who is well known in the world of curling, and to her teammates.

[Lieutenant-Governor Of Quebec, February 3rd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, last week, Lise Thibault was sworn in as the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec.

Mrs. Thibault is a great Canadian, and a great Quebecer. Her unswerving devotion to her fellow citizens has made her a lady whom everyone respects.

I am sure that all of the members of this House join with us in sending our most sincere congratulations to the Lieutenant-Governor of Quebec, along with our best wishes as she assumes these new duties.

[Program Cost Declaration Act, December 13th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, to begin with, I would like to congratulate our colleague from Durham, for taking the initiative to introduce a bill to improve information on the cost of programs proposed by the government.

Our fellow countrymen, administrators, a list of accountants, which we have seen, and even the office of the auditor general have said that this initiative would be welcome. When we look at the enormous expenditures of the government, it is clear that we need mechanisms to ensure program costs are made public at least in general terms, given that it is impossible to have precise information and figures for a five-year period.

But the primary initiative of this bill will be to help bureaucrats realize that Parliament, which has the last word on programs, requires information that is as precise information as possible, because we are aware of the impact, the ramifications, of program expenditures and do not like to find out, a year or two down the road, that certain programs have ended up doubling or tripling the original estimates.

I appreciate the opportunity to speak to this. This is an initiative I like very much. There is no doubt that many mechanisms do exist, as our hon. colleague from Prince Edward Island has said. There are mechanisms in place to control, if you will, or to give some idea of the costs of programs.

However, I think that this proposal by the member for Durham would put our bureaucrats and, of course, ministers and deputy ministers, who are responsible for the various departments, on the alert, forcing them to make sure that the information provided is as accurate as possible, otherwise we are the ones who are going to incur the wrath of our fellow Canadians if they realize that expenditures were higher than anticipated.

In the short time I had, I just wanted to draw the attention of my colleagues to this aspect of the bill. Such legislation deserves a lot of attention and certainly deserves to be debated. I hope it will help those responsible for program analysis to realize that we have the last word and that we need information that is as accurate as possible.

[Point Of Order, November 8th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order. On Monday, November 4, at page 6056 of the Hansard, the leader of the official opposition said, in his preamble on the issue of the former lieutenant-governor of Quebec, the honourable Jean-Louis Roux, and I quote:

[-] also engaged in anti-Semitic behaviour by vandalizing businesses belonging to members of Montreal's Jewish community.

That statement is completely false and unbefitting a leader of the opposition.

[Leader Of The Bloc Quebecois, November 8th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, during oral question period this week, the Bloc Quebecois leader took advantage of his position by insinuating that the former Quebec lieutenant-governor, the hon. Jean-Louis Roux, took part in a demonstration involving anti-semitic actions, in Montreal, back in 1942.

This shameless way of denigrating a person of this calibre shows a blatant lack of decency. But let us give the benefit of the doubt to the Bloc Quebecois leader and let us say that he got carried away.

Therefore, it would be most appropriate for the Bloc Quebecois leader to apologize to the hon. Jean-Louis Roux, through this House.

[The President Of France, October 28th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, anyone who is well informed and honest cannot help but admire French President Jacques Chirac's courage. He acted with conviction and firmness to support the Palestinians' legitimate aspirations.

It is unusual for a head of state to come and take a personal look at a situation like that of the Palestinians. He is convinced that the peace process can succeed if the parties comply with the terms of the Oslo agreement providing for Palestinian self-government on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

He is asking the Palestinians primarily to resist the temptation of violence, despite the stalling of the peace process and the frustrations and humiliations they must face every day.