Martin Cauchon

[Supply, November 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, listening to my hon. colleague's remarks brought to mind this old proverb I used to hear as a child. My father would always tell me “Martin, there is none so deaf as those who will not hear”. All I can do is repeat the figures, which speak for themselves, which I quoted in my speech.

Regarding harmonization—I am repeating myself because, from what I can see, on the other side, when the figures are positive, they just will not hear them. But I am a patient man; therefore, I will repeat them.

Regarding harmonization, since 1991, sales tax revenues clearly increased, going from $5.11 billion in 1989-90 to $6.15 billion in 1991-92. And they are complaining about unfair treatment.

I get the impression that the word does not mean the same thing depending on which side of the House one sits on. We must not be using the same dictionary. In terms of involvement in economic development—

[Supply, November 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, you can see the people on the other side are incapable of moderation. Their language alone forced you to intervene.

[Supply, November 6th, 1997]

They are in Abitibi also, as my colleague just mentioned. They offer investment funds, and in addition to everything else, they have an extraordinary team that people have access to, a team that knows what economic development is and that has a lot of experience.

When we speak of community futures development corporations, we speak basically of a team that has $82 million in assets. Annual investments in Quebec by CFDCs—and this is important when people talk about having a fair share, the numbers are there—are in the order of $23 million. So we can see that these people are active locally. These people carry out business with the local community. In fact, speaking of being active locally and of conducting business, we have developed recently—the Government of Canada in partnership with CFDCs—programs allowing to better focus on the needs of regions in Quebec.

Let me just mention the CFDCs youth initiative. This is basically a grants program with a budget of $6 million that is intended for young people up to age of 34 inclusively. The beauty of this program is that it was structured and designed by the CFDCs in co-operation with the federal office of regional development, to enable us to respond to the needs of young people in Quebec.

The unemployment rate among young people today is around 17%. The statistics are not very encouraging neither, in the area of keeping our youth in our regions. So this youth initiative is designed to keep young people in the regions and also to help them build their own businesses.

Another area we have developed, in addition to involvement in the community, is a new vision of economic development. This is essential because of globalization. I often hear other governments and even critics opposite speak about economic development and I notice that these people, when they succeed in forgetting party lines and when they deal with a particular issue, often base their premises on ideas from the past.

I have two minutes left. As I said, I could talk all day about economic development. To conclude, when we speak about economic development today, we must stop thinking in terms of geography and we must think instead in terms of networking to succeed in competing internationally, and that is what the globalization of markets is calling upon us to do. We must be capable of networking, not only on a national basis, but also on an international basis. This is a positive vision that can help Quebec.

In closing, when we speak of fair shares, I think you have proof in the few words I have just spoken that not only has Quebec received fair treatment as far as the GST is concerned, but when we look more specifically at the question of economic development, there again you have an example that speaks volumes about the services the Canadian government can render and the assistance the Canadian government already renders to all regions, all entrepreneurs. The purpose of so doing is, of course, to serve.

I and my fellow MPs for Quebec have the greater interests of their constituents at heart. As a result, we can built together, unlike what is happening within the Bloc.

[Supply, November 6th, 1997]

You see, they are yelling. They are incapable of rising to a level where, together, we could discuss the real needs of communities. Every time these people are involved in a issue, they get into partisan politics, and this is the major difference.

Actually, there are a number of differences and one of them is the ability of Quebec members sitting on this side to serve Quebec well, to care about its development and its population, in a positive context, in the context of the current federal system which—and I can already hear some grumbling from the other side—is evolving, which has proven to be flexible in the past, and which will continue to do so.

As regards the program we put in place in the Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean region, we worked in partnership—as we on this side of the House know how to do it—with the public's interests in mind. We also created a specific program in addition to the emergency measures taken. That program had a $50 million envelope provided essentially by the federal and the Quebec governments. This is yet another good example of co-operation.

I could speak for hours about the Canadian government's economic involvement in the province of Quebec. Again, speaking of an involvement that is focused on specific needs, I will of course mention the community development program. What a great program that has demonstrated its value locally for close to 20 years. What a great program that is aligned to fit in with local realities and that was ultimately designed to help us continue to serve not only well, but also better, the needs of the business community in the province of Quebec.

Of course, within the community development program, there are also, tied with all this, the community futures development corporations. There are 54 such corporations across the province.

[Supply, November 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak on this motion by my colleagues in the Bloc Quebecois.

Once again, however, allow me to point out the extent to which the people on the other side of the House are looking down the wrong end of the telescope or are failing to look at the other side of the coin.

The motion of the member for Mercier says, among other things:

That this House condemn the government for blatant unfairness to Quebec in the matter of the GST, the government having denied it compensation—

If ever a party failed to look at things objectively, if ever a party had the bad and annoying habit of acting and interacting only out of political interest, this is it and here it is doing it again in the motion by the hon. member for Mercier.

I might point out in passing that this approach does not serve the interests of the people they should be representing.

On the subject of the famous GST, it must be understood that its harmonization benefited Quebec as a whole. It must also be understood that, since harmonization in 1991, tax revenues have risen—and I have the figures here—from $5.11 billion in 1989-90 to $6.15 billion in 1991-92.

Across the way, they seem to be playing the victim game, but the figures speak for themselves and show that there has been substantial gain for the province of Quebec. On the subject of the rules of the game, the Government of Canada acted fairly. It intervened realistically. It also honoured the needs and the realities of each province when it intervened.

On the subject of fair share, the issue is the GST, but we could look further and more specifically at the issue of the Government of Canada's intervention in the whole of Quebec. I, myself, am responsible for issues of economic development.

My colleague tells me that my work is rather well received by the Bloc members. Thank you very much.

When there is talk of economic development, to paraphrase what the Bloc members have just said, I think that indeed the Canadian government is doing a respectable job, a job that meets expectations and requirements. Let us look at the figures.

Quebec businesses receive 40% of tax credits for research and development. I see that my colleagues are taking notes on this, so they must not have realized that. These figures are to the advantage of Quebec but there has been an attempt to conceal them.

Quebec businesses receive 33.5% of direct federal assistance for R&D and to date—an important point—57% of investments under the technology partnerships Canada program were paid to companies in the province of Quebec.

It must also be taken into consideration that, when we are talking taxes, it must be understood that the Canadian government also pays administrative costs to the Government of Quebec. And you will see, if you look at these, that we are far from being a government that does not pay the Government of Quebec its fair share.

Speaking of that contribution, what is involved is financial contributions for administration of the tax, an amount that has hovered around $100 million yearly since 1992-93.

I mentioned economic development earlier. The Canadian government is active in quite a few areas in Quebec, but if we focus only on economic development, I believe that once again, Quebec comes out a winner. Indeed, once again, Quebec is dealt with very fairly and equitably.

We in the Canadian government are committed to dealing with the province of Quebec equitably and, first and foremost, to ensuring that the development of the province's economy can continue.

When I talk about helping and assisting Quebec, seeing that the province can develop further at the economic level, you will have guessed that I am referring to the federal office for regional development. At present, the work the federal office is doing in the province of Quebec is much appreciated by all stakeholders that we work with and are in contact with on a daily basis.

Our vision of economic development is one of respect, a vision that sticks to realities and needs. This is therefore a vision, which, like Canadian federalism, changes as needs change over time. Right now, our vision has to change, as the economy is changing. We are at the crossroads between two types of economy.

All players in the economic field have to start rethinking their way of doing things. The same goes, naturally, for private sector businesses, which now have to carve out specialized niches for themselves, better target their markets, seize every opportunity to increase their competitiveness and adjust to globalization.

And what goes for many players in terms of economic development also goes for the Canadian government. That is why, to take appropriate action in Quebec, we also introduced a change in our programming.

This all began in 1995. We consulted everyone, we consulted the business community, and the message was clear. People wanted us to revamp all our programming. They wanted us to be more in touch with the community and to reduce paperwork to a strict minimum. Above all, and this is the important point, people wanted us to make sure that the government was in a position to help businesses make the transition to the 21st century by adjusting to the new phenomenon of globalization.

The federal office of regional development understood the message and we took action, with a view to continuing to be able to give Quebec its fair share, but also to continuing to deliver all the services of the Canadian government to the public. We took action and created a new program, IDEA-SME, which is for regional small and medium size enterprises. So we are essentially talking about economic development in sectors of the new economy.

But we also developed tools for helping in special contexts, tools that give us maximum flexibility to meet these needs.

Here are some examples of this flexibility. Members will recall the problem of the dwindling groundfish stocks in Atlantic Canada. The federal office implemented the well known Coastal Quebec program, a program I had occasion to report on not so very long ago. The Coastal Quebec program was another example of a flexible government able to react in terms of needs as well as local urgency.

There is another example of action that is appropriate and that corresponds to the situation. You will have guessed that I am referring to the unfortunate events in Saguenay—Lac-Saint-Jean in July 1996. We intervened, along with all the other federal departments that were called in. The Federal Office of Regional Development for Quebec set up what we called the federal liaison office in Jonquière. And we worked in partnership with the other level of government and with the municipalities to ensure that, once again, the public would be adequately served and that its interests would be looked after. We left partisan politics behind, something the Bloc is incapable of doing.

Bloc Quebecois members are incapable of rising—

[The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act, November 3rd, 1997]

moved that Bill C-12, an act to amend the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superannuation Act be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Supply, October 23rd, 1997]

Two hundred jobs. For them, 200 jobs is nothing. We should have created 4,000.

Such a disconcerting attitude shows to what extent Bloc members can be disconnected from regional reality. I am pleased that the government, in co-operation and in partnership with all those affected by this crisis, managed in a short period of time to create or maintain such a high number of quality jobs.

I stand by what I said earlier, namely that the role played by the Québec Côtier program was appropriate and meshed with other measures taken by the Canadian government on regional development, including investment funds for community future development corporations and for youth, and also the programming of the Federal Office of Regional Development, through the EEDI-EMP, and the strategic regional initiatives.

Since our government took office in 1993, we have managed to establish good relations with the regions—in Quebec and across Canada—and we will continue to do so to ensure our expertise can be of help to the regions in their development, so that they can enter the new millennium with a strong momentum.

[Supply, October 23rd, 1997]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to hear the first comments of the official Bloc Quebecois critic on regional development.

Based on his comments, and given the information provided by the government, there seems to be a lack of experience or understanding on the part of Bloc members regarding regional development, including the number of interventions, the spirit of co-operation and the drive that are required not only from governments but from people in every region to succeed in creating jobs.

In this respect, I want to point out that, in my main speech, I first thanked the members of the steering committee and the residents of the communities affected, because these people displayed an incredible drive. It was unfortunate on the part of the critic on regional development to say that a mere 300 or 400 jobs were created.

[Supply, October 23rd, 1997]

You see how enthusiastic the members opposite are.

I will give a report on the famous Fonds Québec Côtier. The results are so good that the members opposite are already excited.

The motion tabled by the leader of the fifth party raises an important issue in that it addresses the problem of the fisheries, particularly the Atlantic fishery. In this sense, I must say that the motion has some merit.

However, where the government differs fundamentally with the motion by the leader of the fifth party is when the latter mentions that the government has done nothing to help, that it is indifferent to the fate of fishermen and their families.

This is to largely ignore the measures put in place by this government, by my colleague, the Minister of Human Resources Development, beginning in May 1994. Furthermore, it will be recalled that the measures had several components. They were seen in part as emergency measures because, obviously, economic issues were involved, as well as more humanitarian ones. It was necessary to act immediately, on an urgent basis, to help these families.

In May 1994 my colleague introduced a multi-faceted program. Obviously, there were income support measures, which were transitory, but there were also economic and community measures. In the Province of Quebec, these measures were assigned to the Federal Office of Regional Development, which I have the pleasure to head up, and we implemented the Programme Québec Côtier. I recently had an opportunity with others to look at the situation in the Gaspé last October 14.

The aim of the program was to ensure that we could intervene in the regions and communities affected by the groundfish crisis, to help not only the fishers affected but also all of the communities, so that the Canadian government together with all the people involved in economic development can rebuild an economic safety net by repositioning the fishing industry and developing new sectors.

At the start of my speech, I heard members of the Bloc shouting and enjoying the fact that I was rising to speak. I can understand that, because they have had little opportunity to become familiar with my report. I must say it is rather an eloquent one. It exists because of the government's intervention and because people in the regions affected were particularly dynamic. They knew how to roll up their sleeves and work together.

In this report, which covers the period from March 30, 1996 to September 30, 1997, in the context of the Québec Côtier program, 229 requests for financial assistance were submitted to the department. Of this number, 121 received offers worth a total of $5.3 million. A total of 380 jobs were created or maintained as a result of these joint ventures. These figures clearly attest to the quality of the Canadian government's commitment.

As the member for Sherbrooke, the leader of the fifth party, pointed out in his motion, these figures testify to the seriousness of our commitment, the quality of our leadership in this matter and our sensitivity to the problems of the families and people affected by the groundfish crisis.

Now if we look a little closer at this intervention by Québec Côtier, and break it down into sub-regions, in the Gaspé region, 70 projects worth a total of $2.8 million were implemented and 200 jobs maintained or created.

On the subject of partnership, the community futures development corporations, which are prime movers in the area of rural and local development, were brought on board. They were stakeholders in the program. They helped deliver the front line services of the Québec Côtier program.

As my colleague from Abitibi pointed out, these corporations are without equal in regional development. The quality of assistance and expertise that they offer is remarkable. When we talk of accurately targeting interventions, we are, obviously, talking about intervening in technological sectors, in cutting-edge sectors but also in areas that are a bit more traditional.

As I indicated, results are encouraging, and the results are encouraging because we in the Government of Canada were concerned and because the interventions were true to our philosophy of working in partnership and in tune with regional realities. This is why we joined up with a policy committee, and I would like to thank the members of this committee, and especially its chair, for having helped develop and implement the program. All of the objectives for this program for economic intervention were met.

As you know, my colleague has indicated that income support measures would end in May 1998. He also announced that he would set up a committee, an individual to determine the impact of the end of these income support measures. Of course the government will pay close attention to all of this study's recommendations.

I would like to point out to the House that, when the time comes to examine future courses of action, if the government deems it appropriate, and particularly if my colleague deems it appropriate in light of the studies' findings, I must say that the model of the Québec Côtier program is one that had considerable success and, although it was an interim measure like all those announced, might prove to be a formula we could continue.

In closing, since I am getting the sign that my time is up—ten minutes is always too short, unfortunately—I would like to sincerely thank the people who worked on the implementation of this program, the members of the advisory committee, and all of the public, because this was obviously not an easy undertaking. Families were affected, but with all of the people helping, we have been able to take a certain number of steps that, without a shadow of a doubt, may make it possible for the regions affected to, essentially, cast their economic nets in different waters and to build quality businesses and, as a consequence, to develop quality lasting jobs, so that not only the major centres but all of the regions will be able to move on into the 21st century.

[Supply, October 23rd, 1997]

Madam Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the motion tabled by the leader of the fifth party. I would like to tell the House right now that I will be dividing my time with my colleague, the hon. member for Gander—Grand Falls.