Lost her last election, in 1997, with 30% of the vote.
Committees Of The House June 16th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Official Languages.
This first report is intended to be an interim report; we met with 11 witnesses. In September, we intend to meet with many additional witnesses and place more specific emphasis on certain crown corporations that will have to provide information on their programs regarding Canada's official languages.
Supply June 7th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, my question will be very short. I listened with incredulity to the speech made by the leader of the Reform Party. I also listened last week to what a Reform member said in this House about Atlantic Canadians who, according to him, are charity cases for the federal government.
Given what the leader of the Reform Party said today, I have several questions: Do the remarks made last week by his Reform colleague reflect his new vision of Canada and does he agree with them? In his opinion, will Atlantic Canada stay in a Confederation that will foster its linguistic, economic and social growth, just like at the beginning of this Confederation?
Supply June 2nd, 1994
What has that to do with my comments? You are not answering what I said!
Supply June 2nd, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the Bloc member who agrees with me that regional development programs, particularly the one for Atlantic Canada -which benefits the Gaspé Peninsula to a certain extent-are not hand-outs like the Reform member said, drawing heavy applause from some Bloc members.
I would like to stress that, indeed, Canadians and Quebecers have a good memory. As far as regional development policies are concerned, I remember the time when I lived in the Quebec North Shore area in the 1970s. It underwent a true industrial, economic and social revolution with the help of a Liberal government in Ottawa. I remember that vividly. But some people have a very selective memory. They remember things that may not have been really needed at the time, but they seldom remember and praise good things that were done. This is a case of selective memory.
As concerns the remarks of the hon. member, I would like to mention that, as the member for Madawaska-Victoria, New Brunswick, I am not part of what he calls English Canada. Mr. Speaker, there is no such thing as an English Canada and a French Canada. There is one Canada from coast to coast, one nation made up of founding peoples and immigrants, a nation of which we are all extremely proud.
Supply June 2nd, 1994
The hon. member for Rimouski-Témiscouata also.
I want the member to withdraw his remark, his insult to the population of Atlantic Canada including the MPs in the House who represent them. We are here because we were democratically elected. We were elected as members. I want the member to withdraw his remarks about Atlantic Canadians.
Supply June 2nd, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I am appalled by the comments of the member who just spoke. He talked about charity to Atlantic Canada and before that he talked about history.
Perhaps the member needs a little lesson in history. Atlantic Canada was one of the most prosperous regions when Canada was built, at the time of Confederation. The Atlantic region helped Quebec open up its waters to the world, to the detriment of Atlantic Canada. It helped develop western Canadian agriculture, and we are here as Atlantic MPs listening to western MPs telling us that we are charity cases.
Supply June 2nd, 1994
Mr. Speaker, it is all right, Kamouraska and Madawaska are quite close to each other.
I think it is very appropriate that a Reform member would indicate today to this House that he is on the same wavelength as the Bloc and that his party shares the same vision as the Bloc partisans about the problems we face and the solution they advocate.
I also want to mention to the hon. member who put forward this motion, in which he expressed his concern about overlappings and inconsistencies in the regional economic development policies, that we have indeed seen in the past, and particularly in the last few years, a proliferation of programs with no realistic goals.
The hon. member has a point there. However, I want to point out to him that, in the last six months, the Liberal government has put forth its vision and its action plan. The hon. member must recognize the value of the infrastructure program which currently involves all levels of government: municipal, provincial as well as federal.
The infrastructure program implemented by the Liberal government these last few months gives you a concrete example of how this government intends to run the country. Nobody can say that the infrastructure program we just created is inconsistent and does not take into account the needs of the provinces and the communities, because there would be no national infrastructure program if communities had not submitted proposals approved by the provincial as well as by the federal authorities.
So, I believe that the Liberals in this House have, in fact, shown the leadership both Canada and Quebec need at this time.
Official Languages April 27th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, the leader of the Reform Party said last week that he will gore the Official Languages Act, therefore attacking our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our Constitution, our history, our country.
To bring some perspective to the leader of the Reform Party's goring agenda, I want him to know that his goring expedition-
Education April 15th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I promise that my question will be short and to the point. For a while now, Bloc members have been having fun, scaring francophones outside Quebec by saying that our government is cutting funds for francophones. In view of the importance of education for francophones outside Quebec, could the Minister of Canadian Heritage tell us if the education budget for francophone communities will be cut?
Semaine Provinciale Du Français March 25th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, today marks the end of a very exciting week in New Brunswick. I am referring to the Semaine provinciale du français, which began last Monday under the theme "Fêter, c'est français", and concerns all of New Brunswick, that is both its French and English-speaking populations.
All week, activities took place across the province to promote French in New Brunswick.
On Monday, I was at the Cité des jeunes, where I met lively young francophones from New Brunswick who strive to preserve the French fact in that province.