Suzanne Tremblay

[Construction Of A French-Language School In Kingston, June 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, in that case, how does the Deputy Prime Minister reconcile her statement supporting Kingston's obstruction, when her colleague, the heritage minister, gave a grant of over half a million dollars for the proposed francophone community cultural centre located on the very site condemned by the environment minister?

[Construction Of A French-Language School In Kingston, June 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment.

Monday, in the House, the Deputy Prime Minister endorsed the opposition expressed by Kingston city council to the construction of a suitable French-language school, saying it was

justified because, and I quote: "The proposed site was only steps away from a dangerous toxic waste treatment site".

Does the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Environment still maintain that Kingston's opposition to the proposed French school is justified because the site already purchased by the school board is allegedly next to a site that handles toxic and hazardous wastes, when such a site does not exist? Does she still maintain that, yes or no?

[Supply, June 2nd, 1994]

Madam Speaker, the question takes me by surprise because my remarks had nothing to do with what the hon. member is talking about. There was no mention of deficit reduction in my remarks. This point has been made to another hon. member earlier, but as far as I am concerned, I never raised the issue.

Deficit reduction is the least of my worries. My main concern at this time is to ensure that people are afforded the dignity of getting up in the morning, facing themselves in the mirror and setting off to got to work, instead of getting depressed because they have nothing to eat or no job. What we need, Madam Speaker, is jobs. This government crows about jobs, but does not create any. It produces fine speeches, but no jobs. What I want is job creation.

[Supply, June 2nd, 1994]

I met the director of the Federal Office of Regional Development in my riding. He told me that the cupboard was bare. I do not mind talking in this House, but when I am told that there are only $2 million left for the Lower St. Lawrence, the Gaspé Peninsula and the Magdalen Islands, I say that the cupboard is bare.

We are told about the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, but I am still waiting for the list of those created since this government took office. There are no business opportunities to talk about in my riding. All I have, daily, are people joining the ranks of those on unemployment insurance or welfare. There are no businesses developing.

Of course, the restaurant La Cage aux sports will open on June 15, but I do not call that an extraordinary economic development of the Lower St. Lawrence and the Gaspé Peninsula. Sure, this will be on more establishment, but this will only divide the profits. There are plenty of restaurants in my riding, so the opening of this one will cause another to close or will divide the profits. People are moving out, because there are no jobs. We are waiting for jobs, Mr. Parliamentary Secretary.

[Supply, June 2nd, 1994]

Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I take part in the debate on regional development. I really appreciate today's motion by my friend and colleague from Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup. I must remind you that regional development is first and foremost a regional responsibility. In my riding of eastern Quebec, as elsewhere in Quebec and in Canada, people know their territory and its resources and how to develop them. Very often, they need only a little bit of money and the support of the local government.

However, yesterday, in preparation for this debate, my staff contacted various spokespersons in my riding. They all said the same thing: "The region has its resources and governments, rather than listening to us in order to help us develop them, do what they please and more often than not fight it out among themselves at our expense obviously". Other people have denounced the attitude of the federal government which not only encroaches on areas of provincial jurisdiction, but also often takes initiatives diametrically opposed to the will of the local and provincial governments.

However, with an unemployment rate of 27.3 per cent in the Gaspé Peninsula and of 17.6 per cent in the Lower St. Lawrence district, efficiency is now a must. In my riding, for example, we have ideas on how to create jobs by using our natural resources like the forest, agriculture or manufacturing resources. We have projects for processing plants, and so forth.

Moreover, very often, the federal government has shown in the last few years its total lack of understanding of the regions' needs. On December 5, 1990, the president and CEO of the CBC, Gérard Veilleux, announced the closing of the CJBRT station in Rimouski, CBGAT in Matane, CBST in Sept-Îles, for a total of about 150 jobs in eastern Quebec and lost wages of almost two million. Not only did we see families leave the area and the regional economy lose these two million-and this is a very large sum for a region such as eastern Quebec-but our shopkeepers, our community lost at the same time a very important means of communication. Now, to hear about the eastern part of Quebec on CBC television broadcast from Quebec city, we must be on the lookout since it is often sandwiched between news concerning Quebec's mayor and his disputes with the mayor of Sainte-Foy on the program "Ce soir". Sometimes there is something about the eastern part of Quebec.

Let us not forget also the bad federal decisions made by the Trudeau government which seem to have benefited the Maritimes. There was a bad decision about Mirabel and another one, taken by the minister of the day, member for Matane, about the Maurice Lamontagne Institute, which was located in Sainte-Flavie when it should have been in Pointe-au-Père. An $18 million wharf was constructed, but no ship ever drew alongside it since there is nothing to protect those that would. In the meantime, the wharf at Pointe-au-Père is rotted out but we do not have the million dollars needed to pull it down, even though it is a public hazard.

The CBC pulled $46 million out of the regions when it closed 11 regional stations across Canada. I remind members that that restructuration cost quite a few million dollars, more exactly $138.5 million, not to mention the fact that the CBC's deficit is far from under control.

Our regions remember this episode vividly, especially the fact that the first thought of the management of the CBC was to cut regional services. This set an example that was repeated many times over.

Another significant example of the lack of respect paid to regions was the closing of post offices. Imagine the contempt of Quebecers or rural Canadians whose post offices are being closed, despite their very important role in the community. The current government has indeed declared a moratorium on post office closures, but it has not committed itself to reopening the post offices which were closed by its predecessor, and people in my riding who were contacted by my office yesterday and who are working on this issue are not at all sure that the post offices will remain open once the moratorium is lifted. On the contrary, some have told us that Canada Post's current lobby would ultimately succeed.

VIA Rail is another example. The government boasts about its infrastructure program, but at the same time, it keeps dismantling other important infrastructures such as VIA Rail when we all know how railways, in regions like ours, do make a vital contribution to the Eastern Quebec economy.

Another example of this government's sensitivity is the National Film Board's decision to close its regional offices. The Carrousel du film, a major festival in the area of audio-visual production for children and the only one of its kind in America, has also been targeted for severe budget cuts. Telefilm, which must reduce its funding of various programs because of cuts imposed by the government, has decided to focus more on large festivals, or those held in big cities. The Carrousel du film, which is a regional festival, will therefore be subjected to cuts. This internationally recognized festival promotes productions for children, a key sector which meets the objectives of acquainting children with quality movies. But, here again, our unfeeling government did not hesitate to make cuts.

Those are only a few examples of what the implementation of so-called national policies leads to. Such policies are dreamed up in a city by city-dwelling bureaucrats and civil servants who do not have the slightest idea of the concerns of people in remote areas.

The first consequence of the deplorable failure of federalism in the remote areas of Quebec is the exodus of adults and young people alike. If you refer to a publication of the Rimouski community health department, called Optique Santé , you will find some fascinating information. The 1991 census shows that the Quebec population has increased by 5.6 per cent, whereas the Lower St. Lawrence is loosing its population and shows a net loss of 2.7 per cent.

This overall drop in the Lower St. Lawrence population is due to a negative balance of migration. Such emigration is one of the main causes of the aging of these communities since it is the most mobile inhabitants who leave, namely the young people and the adults. In short, the failure of the federal regional development policy has had a severe impact on the demographic decline of the Lower St. Lawrence. People in that area will speak loud and clear during the upcoming election and referendum.

This morning, our ability to read was questioned so, to conclude, I would like to quote from John Naisbitt's book entitled Global Paradox . According to the jacket blurb, he is supposed to be quite a genius.

"In the hallmark of genius is simplicity that Naisbitt has brilliantly presented a work which reasonably addresses the challenges of the future while providing the chart for successful navigation".

I will now quote the author.

The breakup of countries (artificially put together) into national or tribal entities is surely as beneficial as the breakup of companies. It eliminates duplication and waste, reduces bureaucracy and promotes motivation and accountability, and results in self-rule (subsidiary) at the most basic level-just like in companies.

This is what the Chilean Minister of Finance has to say about him:

"John Naisbitt's new book is visionary. His predictions will be, as they have been before, right on target".

Quebec's objective is quite laudable. English Canada has not yet understood that we have had enough of not having the necessary resources to fully develop our potential. So Atlantic Canada is a paradise on earth, let it keep on developing! So western Canada has all it needs for its development! Ontario, where most of this government comes from, is still not understanding what is going on in the rest of Canada. But nothing will deter us from our one and only goal: Quebec sovereignty.

[Construction Of A French-Language School, June 2nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have a supplementary. Since the approval of Kingston city council is the only thing delaying the construction of the school, does the minister not realize that, at this stage, the search for another site, or any delay in the council decision, would unduly postpone the timely construction of an adequate French-language school in Kingston?

[Construction Of A French-Language School, June 2nd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Yesterday, the minister confirmed the commitment made by the Prime Minister that a French-language school will be built in Kingston as quickly as possible, given the appalling conditions of the existing facilities, which have no toilets nor running water, and which have been used as a school for over six years.

Considering that the Kingston French-language school board has decided to build a school on the Olan Mills site, considering that the Ontario Department of Education has approved the $7-million contribution for the construction of the school on that site, and considering that the minister himself and the Ontario minister of culture have authorized a budget of over one million dollars for the construction of a cultural centre adjacent to the school, will the minister pledge to ensure that the French-language school will be built on the site selected and bought by the school board?

[Supply, June 2nd, 1994]

Yes, you are.

[Kingston's Francophones, June 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question is directed to the Minister of National Defence. Does the minister still claim that Kingston is a showcase for bilingualism in Canada, and will he confirm that, so far, none of the teachers at the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean have agreed to sign a contract for their transfer to Kingston?

[Kingston's Francophones, June 1st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, teachers at the Collège militaire royal de Saint-Jean who may be transferred to Kingston are very concerned about the quality of French language education their children will receive in Kingston. Today, Le Devoir reported what was said by their spokesman, and I quote: ``It is like a third world country-the school's is housed in shacks without toilets or running water, and this has been going on for six years''.

My question is directed to the Minister of Canadian Heritage. How can the minister responsible for implementation of the Official Languages Act continue to tolerate the obstruction by Kingston's municipal council concerning the plans for building a real school for francophones in Kingston, when the minister has already approved the expenditure of over half a million dollars for the construction of a cultural centre attached to the school, right on the controversial Olan Mills site?