Robert Bertrand

[Saint-Henri-Westmount And Brome-Missisquoi, February 14th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I am extremely proud and happy today to draw attention to the fine victories achieved by Lucienne Robillard in Saint-Henri-Westmount and by Denis Paradis in the by-election in Brome-Missisquoi last night.

In addition to underscoring the hard work by the members of his team, Mr. Paradis' victory is a strong warning to separatist forces. It is also a good indicator of the mood of the people of Quebec in this period before the referendum, whatever one might say. Quebecers will not be fooled by separatist rhetoric. They are well aware of the issues in this debate. The many still unanswered questions about an independent Quebec in year one contributed as well to this victory by the Liberal Party.

This message the people of the ridings of Brome-Missisquoi and Saint-Henri-Westmount have given to the separatist forces should encourage the Quebec minister of finance to present his famous year one budget. Quebecers will then have an opportunity to see the hidden face of independence for the first time.

Mr. Speaker, the third period is well underway, and Canadians are in the lead.

[Equalization Payments, February 10th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the Quebec minister of industry said Wednesday, at the hearings of the North Shore regional commission on Quebec sovereignty, that equalization payments represent only $500 per person annually, or a twelve-pack a week.

I would point out to Mr. Paillé that equalization payments, that is the amount the federal government transfers to Quebec annually, are on the order of 3.7 billion dollars.

To describe the contribution made by the Canadian government to redistributing the collective wealth of this country to those in greater need, the minister has used an image that reveals the growing obsession of the members of the Parti Quebecois and the Bloc with concealing any positive initiative by Canada.

[Petitions, February 6th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, in the third and final petition the petitioners pray that Parliament act immediately to extend protection to the unborn child by amending the Criminal Code to extend the same protection enjoyed by born human beings to unborn human beings.

[Petitions, February 6th, 1995]

Madam Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36 I would like to present three petitions on behalf of constituents of Shawville, Quebec dealing with social issues.

In the first two, petitioners pray that Parliament not amend the Canadian Human Rights Act or the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in any way that would tend to indicate societal approval of same sex relationships or of homosexuality including amending the Canadian Human Rights Act to include in the prohibited grounds of discrimination the undefined phrase sexual orientation.

[Quebec Premier, November 29th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the Premier of Quebec spoke to members of the Canadian Club in Toronto.

In his speech, the indépendantiste leader warned his audience against the consequences of a win for the "no" side in the next referendum. He said that if Quebecers voted no to his plan for Quebec's independence, they would continue to be dissatisfied with their status in Canada, and for English Canadians, this

would be as bad as an endless session in the dentist's chair, according to the a daily newspaper Le Droit .

He stated that a win for the "no" side in the referendum would be useless and that all Canada's constitutional problems would remain, while a win for the "yes" side would rid Canada of the Quebec problem for good.

I think that this week, the Premier of Quebec missed a golden opportunity to explain what his sovereignty plan is all about. Scare tactics are certainly not the way to sell his plan to the rest of Canada. It is important for Quebecers to know exactly-

[Liberal Party Of Canada, October 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to tell you that on the weekend I took part in a meeting of the General Council of the Liberal Party of Canada in Quebec City. Over 450 people from all regions of Quebec met there to celebrate the first anniversary of the Liberal government's election and to start to prepare their strategy for the coming referendum campaign in Quebec.

The participants had an opportunity to discuss such important issues as the reform of social programs with members of Parliament and took part in the finance minister's pre-budget consultation. At the end of this meeting, the party members were delighted with the visit from their leader, the Prime Minister of Canada, who had come to give them the signal to mobilize for the coming referendum. It was invigorating to see all these people, representing tens of thousands of party members in Quebec, meet to share their determination and their faith in a united Canada. Congratulations to the organizers and the participants who managed to make this great gathering a real celebration.

[English]

[Bloc Quebecois, October 7th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, on October 2, the Montreal daily La Presse published an article entitled ``Le Bloc lance ses troupes à la chasse au vote souverainiste sans attendre'' (the Bloc decides to go after sovereignist vote now).

In it, we learn that the official opposition whip is exhorting the separatists to infiltrate local community service centres, school boards, municipal governments and any other organization or body controlled by so-called federalists.

The message is clear-the Bloc cares not a whit about the administration of government and the quality of services delivered to the public. The Bloc is now pushing an out-and-out sovereignist propaganda campaign. This will rapidly turn into a exercise in demagoguery that can only destroy the country.

[Bloc Quebecois Fundraising, October 5th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the hon. member for Richelieu presented a motion to change the party fundraising process at the federal level. In fact, this was nothing but window dressing to conceal the Bloc's own fundraising habits and lack of transparency.

While all federal political parties comply with the Canada Elections Act and make their list of donors public, the Official Opposition hides behind a special provision of the act to avoid disclosing information that the public is entitled to.

This guilty silence on contributions received by the Bloc Quebecois and its list of donors lets an uncomfortable element of doubt hang over its funding sources.

[Government Efficiency, September 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the government took office with a commitment to work with the provinces to cancel unnecessary programs, streamline the process and eliminate overlap.

What specific examples can the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs give us of action taken to make Confederation more efficient?

[Department Of Industry Act, September 26th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have a question for the hon. member for Edmonton Southwest. Given his proposal, how does he intend to reestab-

lish a balance between rich areas and underprivileged areas with high unemployment if the government does not do anything?