Jean-Paul Marchand

[Supply, November 25th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell my colleague from Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca that as a whole, I appreciate what he had to say. I want to come back to his suggestion. He seems to have something to say to the people of Quebec; I would suggest, if he is really interested in solving the problem, that he listen to Quebeckers.

The problem in Canada is that people do not listen to Quebec. To begin with, he should wonder why is Canada falling apart. It is not Quebeckers' fault. It is not because they did not say what was on their mind and what was troubling them, it is because nobody wants to listen. People have been disregarding the message not of something that is uniquely Canadian, but from a third or a quarter of the Canadian population, one of the founding nations of Canada, which today has been reduced to something with a unique character.

I would suggest that my colleague from Esquimalt—Juan de Fuca, if in his heart he truly wants to find a solution to save Canada, listen to Quebec.

[Supply, November 25th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I greatly appreciated my colleague's speech. It was polite and eloquent but it meant nothing.

I would suggest, if he has the time, that he read a book by a journalist at The Globe and Mail , Ray Conlogue, entitled The Impossible Nation . He would learn a lot from that book on the reality of Canada, a reality symbolized by the Calgary declaration.

In 1980, there was a referendum, the first referendum ever held in Quebec, and on that occasion, Quebec told Canada how much its situation in Canada was frustrating. That referendum led to the Meech Lake agreement, the Meech Lake formula proposed by a federalist Quebec government, Robert Bourassa's government. That agreement represented the minimum Quebec could ask from Canada at the time. Naturally, Canada refused that minimum and there was a second referendum in which Quebec voted even more strongly to express its discomfort at being part of Canada. That process led to the Calgary declaration.

But there is absolutely nothing in this declaration. It is a formula offering even less than the Meech Lake formula, where the uniqueness of Quebec within Canada is mixed in with so many other elements that we no longer recognize Quebec.

I wonder if the member could tell me how the Calgary declaration can solve the problem of unity and equality in Canada.

[Supply, November 25th, 1997]

Explain that.

[Supply, November 25th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I find that the debate between the Reform member for Surrey, if I am not mistaken, and the member from the La Salle Blues Band across the way exemplifies the kind of situation we are facing in Canada because we have two opposite views. On the one hand, the hon. member from the Reform Party, who does not speak French and may not even have bothered to come to Quebec to enquire about the real demands Quebec has been making for 30 years, but is nevertheless trying to preach the virtues of unity based on some kind of Anglo-Canadian supremacy that would basically drown out Quebec's demands.

On the other hand, there is the hon. member for Lac-Saint-Louis, who is presenting the other side of the national unity issue, one that seems to reflect a clear understanding of Quebec's demands, because we are well aware that he once was a minister in the Quebec National Assembly. Yet, the end result is exactly the same. In fact, it would not make any difference if they were members of the Conservative Party or the NDP; the bottom line is that they argue, but they all agree on one thing: to put forward proposal like the Calgary declaration, in which there is nothing but empty words, that has no political weight whatsoever and ignores the legitimate and justifiable demands Quebec has been making for 30 years.

[Parish Of Sainte-Monique-Les-Saules, November 3rd, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to congratulate the organizing committee of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the parish of Sainte-Monique-les-Saules. The activities it organized were a resounding success throughout the year.

Its efforts were rewarded by the strong participation of parish residents, and its members' enthusiasm was reflected in the quantity and quality of the events organized.

I would particularly like to thank the chairman of the committee, Lucien Lemieux, the parish priest, Gervais Dallaire, and all 11 members of the organizing committee. All gave generously of their time to the community. Through their commitment, they are helping to strengthen the important ties among people in Les Saules.

Once again, thank you to all those who contributed, in whatever way they could, to the success of the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Sainte-Monique-les-Saules parish.

[Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act, October 7th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I was particularly impressed with the comments from the MP for Kent—Essex saying that the pension plan is not a tax grab by the government, that the funds that would be put into the pension fund would not be used for purposes other than pensions.

I submit to the MP for Kent—Essex that the government increased UI premiums and instead of using this money to help the unemployed, it used it to reduce the deficit. This was a misuse of that money.

What about the GST, the famous tax that was supposed to be abolished by the government? The GST was never abolished as far as I know. I ask the MP from Kent—Essex if the government can be trusted not to use funds in the pension fund for purposes other than the pension plan.

[Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, October 6th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I too was quite impressed by the remarks of the hon. member for Sherbrooke and leader of the Conservative Party, who said that, with the new pension plan, the level of taxation will rise by $11 billion over six years. It is strange to hear this expression of concern coming from the Conservatives. He spoke of the poor and the young and went so far as to suggest there is need to control and limit government spending.

Has he forgotten that, while the Conservatives were in office, Canada's public debt doubled from $250 billion to $500 billion? Does he not think that doubling the Canadian government's debt load and imposing a mismanaged GST on the Canadian economy, both actions having been taken by the Conservatives while in power, helped create many problems, including the pension problem? In other words, does he not think that increasing the Canadian government's debt load while they were in power added to the pension problem in Canada?

[Satellite Dishes, April 18th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the Broadcasting Act provides that Radio-Canada's signals must reach the largest possible audience.

Given that the satellite broadcasting industry is still in its infancy, will the minister ask Radio-Canada to put off its decision to eliminate its analog signal for at least one year, so as to give consumers time to adjust to the technological changes he just mentioned?

[Satellite Dishes, April 18th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, this spring, hundreds of owners of satellite dishes will lose the last analog signal in French, that of Radio-Canada. While technological progress may be a good thing, these people should have been informed of that change, before investing over $1,000 in satellite dishes that will no longer work.

Why does the industry minister not conduct a real information campaign on this issue, so as to reach people, particularly those who live in rural areas, instead of merely publishing a brochure distributed by the sellers of satellite dishes, who do not always have an interest in telling the truth to their customers?

[Official Languages, April 8th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary is for the Minister of Human Resources Development.

Francophones in Ontario, as well as in Acadia, are being done out of hundreds of millions of dollars in job training. Because services are not available in their language, they must take courses in English.

How can the Minister of Human Resources Development, who said only recently that the federal government protects French in Canada, contribute in this way to the anglicization of francophones outside Quebec?