Marcel Massé

[The Constitution, November 8th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I made no accusations and I based each of my statements on remarks made by the leader of the Parti Quebecois and the leader of the Bloc Quebecois.

Furthermore, in the committee that was struck, we are going to try to find a solution to the problems the country is facing, one that will help Canadians, including Quebecers. And the Bloc Quebecois is opposing our efforts at finding a solution to the present problems and is opposing the resolution of difficulties in jurisdictional matters, despite the fact that the majority of Quebecers indicated in a democratic decision that they did not want to leave Canada.

[The Constitution, November 8th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on the subject of negotiations, the Leader of the Opposition said the day they would be at a table would be the day after Quebec had voted yes in a referendum, which he hoped would be held in the very near future. This reveals very clearly that the Leader of the Opposition does not agree with 73 per cent of Quebecers, who indicated they wanted negotiations on Canada's future.

[The Constitution, November 8th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the allegations by the member for Roberval are clearly in error.

With regard to the distinct society, it was the leader of the Parti Quebecois himself who said: "Stop bothering me with this idea of a distinct society". This is a matter of public record and contradicts what the member for Roberval has just said. So, he is the one opposed to a distinct society and not our Prime Minister.

Furthermore, in talking about negotiating the best for Quebec, let me read you, Mr. Speaker, what Lucien Bouchard himself said-

[The Constitution, November 8th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the promises the Prime Minister made regarding changes in connection with the distinct society, in particular, are promises the Prime Minister will keep.

Obviously, the Bloc Quebecois has no interest in these promises being kept, since their aim is to destroy the country. However, if we look objectively at events in recent years, we will see there have been significant changes in the federal government. We also know that the Leader of the Opposition has said he is not interested in discussing change of any sort until after a yes vote in the referendum.

Therefore, the opponents of change benefitting Quebecers are the Bloc Quebecois and the Parti Quebecois.

[National Unity, November 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, as I said, that group of ministers will get together and look at all the ways, all the possibilities for change in the federation.

I am not going to pre-judge the results by indicating what they could be before we start working.

[National Unity, November 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, all the ministers in cabinet, including those on the cabinet committee, want Canada to continue as the country with the best quality of life in the world. Therefore none of them will be the advocate of one side or another. All together we will try to create a consensus on the package of measures that will solve the present constitutional problems.

[National Unity, November 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, on the second question, the solidarity of cabinet prevents me from answering. The leader of the third party should know that.

On the first question, we have been able to put together a package of measures that so far has united the country because we have tried to create jobs, we have tried to increase economic growth and we have tried to increase investment.

In terms of decentralization, we must recognize that decentralization is not a panacea to all the ills of the federation. Decentralization is justified only when it means that services are given by the levels of government best equipped to give them.

In terms of decentralization we want to serve Canadians, and Canadians once again are not served by applying an ideology of decentralization. They are served by levels of government that decide on the powers that each level should exercise according to how efficiently it can deliver services to Canadians.

[The Constitution, November 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the member for Roberval is clearly not weighing his words. How could a committee only mentioned today have produced results?

So, it is clear. In the past two years, we have succeeded in creating nearly 500,000 new jobs. This is what Canadians wanted, and we have maintained industrial harmony, while improving our budget. These are perfectly respectable results. I would have preferred the official opposition to have done a much better job of defending the rights of Quebecers-something we have done.

[The Constitution, November 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, when we set up the program review committee last year, the opposition thought it was not going to produce results either. The result was the best budget in 50 years, which changed the structure of the federal budget and enabled us to recover our fiscal responsibility.

Why should we not hope for as much from a committee that is vital to the survival of the federation?

[The Constitution, November 7th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the committee in question is a group of ministers in the federal cabinet, who are going to look at all options for change-both administratively and constitutionally.