Marcel Massé

[The Constitution, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, what Canadians, Quebecers included, want and what they have reaffirmed for Quebec in a recent survey, is that government focus on their economic problems.

The Liberal government, the government of Canada, has addressed these problems and cleaned its house in the last budget. I would strongly suggest to the opposition that it ensure that its big brother, the Parti Quebecois, does the same in Quebec because, like Canadians, Quebecers want their economic problems to be addressed, and the unemployment and employment problems in their province solved.

[The Constitution, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, if in fact one looks at the past two years, it will be seen that the amount of popular support for the Liberal government in the first two years of our mandate has been higher than for any government since confederation.

So, clearly, we have had a level of popular support based on our accomplishments, because we have begun to address Canada's economic problems, while the Parti Quebecois and its little brother the Bloc Quebecois have not focussed their concerns on this in the least. That is what must be done.

[Canadian Unity, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I am afraid the question reveals a wrong understanding of the country and a wrong understanding of the parliamentary system.

In our parliamentary system, with representative democracy, people are elected to express their views and their feelings about national interests in the federal Parliament. This is exactly what exists.

The country is not homogeneous. People who come from Alberta are quite able to represent people who come from other areas of the country. They are not tied down to their part of the country.

It is quite improper for the leader of the third party to assume that members of the House are only representative of a small part of the country. No. They represent national interests.

[Canadian Unity, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, it is not the custom to comment on the membership of committees. In this case there is clearly a regional balance. Unless we split people in two we unfortunately cannot have a balance that corresponds exactly to the percentage of the population.

Also, when the member unfairly talks about the number of votes, we should all remember the Parti Quebecois was elected by barely three-quarters of one per cent of the popular vote. That means nothing. To repeat, in a democracy the people who have the most votes get the prize.

[Canadian Unity, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the answer to the first question is yes and to the second question is no.

[Canadian Unity, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, this committee has clear terms of reference. They will not be produced in the House because this is a task force which consists of ministers. Ad hoc committees normally have mandates and memberships that are kept confidential. They are kept confidential for one good reason: they are the means by which advice and recommendations are given to the Prime Minister. That has been the custom of cabinets throughout history.

The mandate of this committee is clear. We are going to look at the promises of the Prime Minister and how they can be implemented. That is clear. They were in the speech given by the Prime Minister. We know what they are. We are looking at non-constitutional means of improving the way in which the government operates. We have already done it through program review last year. A lot of measures were indicated in the budget.

The leader of the third party should acknowledge that the terms of reference and objectives are clear. The membership is known. We are trying at present to establish a proper diagnostic and to find the right means of solving the problems.

[Special Committee On Canadian Unity, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I see that the official opposition has now adopted the term "phoney". Its members are asking phoney questions.

They are obviously much more concerned about what goes on outside, than about the important issues discussed in this House. The important issue now is clearly to try to solve the problems as they exist. We are trying to do that by constitutional and others means.

[Special Committee On Canadian Unity, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I will repeat for the tenth time that the Prime Minister clearly indicated in his speeches that he was going to look after the issues of distinct society and right of veto. He asked a number of ministers to develop strategies, get a better understanding of the referendum results, and make appropriate changes for Quebec and Canada. This is what we are doing.

As regards Mr. Trudeau's comments, the hon. member should also remember that he clearly said that the Leader of the Opposition had make a mockery of the truth, to use a diplomatic expression. This is exactly what he said in his press conference.

[Special Committee On Canadian Unity, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, to continue in hockey parlance, the hon. member for Roberval lost by default because they decided to leave the game. They lost the referendum and, instead of tackling the real problems, they decided their only objective is to destroy Canada. All their energy is spent not on dealing with the economic and other problems of this country but on destroying the country. That is why they have nothing to offer in the way of real solutions we should be developing for the future of Quebec and Canada.

[Special Committee On Canadian Unity, November 9th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the official opposition is spouting nonsense about a committee that was set up to deal with the problems we have now in this country.

Prime Minister Chrétien made it quite clear that the important problems in this country today are economic problems, and he also said that the Parti Quebecois was wasting its time, after it lost the referendum, on reopening constitutional issues and refused to deal with the real problems, which are job creation and unemployment.

More than 60 per cent of Quebecers said in a recent poll that they wanted the Parti Quebecois and the Bloc Quebecois to take care of the economy and job creation and stop wasting their time, their money and their future on discussing a problem that has already been settled.