House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 1997, with 54% of the vote.
The Constitution October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I have read a number of studies indicating that given that past constitutional changes have been submitted to referenda, the normal way in the future would be to go through referenda.
However, I do not know that we have talked about that as a policy. Therefore I do not think as the government we are linked to that.
Federalism October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the reason I am not addressing the specific question about changing federal institutions is this is merely a diversion from the present problem we are facing of why it is necessary to prevent the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada. In this I hope to have the support of the Reform Party because that is the important reform.
To change the supreme court or to change the Senate, although it is a very important question, has nothing to do with the question we are facing today, the separation of Quebec from the rest of Canada.
Federalism October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the time to approve these changes would have been in Charlottetown. Unfortunately the leader of the third party did not approve them. There was a lot of discussion at the time on questions such as those. The leader of the third party chose to oppose Charlottetown.
At present the question we face is not the approval of Charlottetown. At present the question we face is the possible separation of the province of Quebec from the rest of Canada.
The burden of proof is on the separatists, and the separatists have not discharged the burden of proof. They have not given us a single good reason why Quebec should get out of the federation. That is what we must hammer at until the vote on Monday.
Federalism October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I thought I would get some respite after the questions of the Bloc Quebecois.
Unfortunately, we are plunging again into constitutional questions. In these questions, I would like to indicate how much this government has indicated that it is ready to change. Not only have we talked about questions such as distinct society and right to veto; more importantly, we have indicated that we are ready to give to the provinces a large number of powers. We indicated this in the last budget.
In the last budget we showed clearly that we are ready to reduce the actual size of the federal government. We have reduced our own departments by close to 20 per cent. We said that we would recentre our responsibilities and let the level of government that is the most efficient fulfil their responsibilities. That is the greatest opening to change that one can see.
Referendum Campaign October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, when the Parti Quebecois, in the person of its Minister of International Affairs, Bernard Landry, attacks the president of the United States for having stated his position with respect to Canada, when the members of the opposition are attempting to interpret everything said in such a way as to indicate their disbelief, for instance, that they do not believe the Canadian provincial premiers' offer of assistance with questions relating to the distinct society, one wonders. One wonders how they can believe they are preparing to negotiate with other NAFTA partners or other provinces of Canada when they spend all their time insulting them.
Referendum Campaign October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, I see that the opposition is unfortunately resorting to personalities and is attempting to assassinate the character of the Prime Minister. I feel this is a deplorable tactic. It is a tactic which lessens the credibility of the opposition when it is trying to convince people it has the ability to govern a country.
Because we have proven our ability to govern a country, proven our ability to make it fiscally responsible, something the PQ has so far refused to do. We have proven our ability to downsize government as was necessary, something the PQ government has not done. We have proven our ability to support the interests of Quebecers within Quebec, while the Official Opposition, Messrs. Parizeau and Bouchard, have no reality to offer, just promises.
Referendum Campaign October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, first of all I may remind the hon. member for Roberval that Saint-Jean was one occasion when the ministers of the Parti Quebecois failed to deal with the problem. When the Péquistes could not agree, we made arrangements with the Conseil économique du Haut-Richelieu to keep the Collège de Saint-Jean open. That is the honest truth.
Second, the hon. member quoted what the Prime Minister of Canada said a few years ago. Perhaps we should ask the Leader of the Opposition what he said when he was a Conservative, or what he said when he was with the Union nationale, because he changed his position several times. What matters is the truth of what he said, not his position at the time.
As far as truth is concerned, I would really like to know why, when Mr. Bouchard, the Leader of the Opposition, spoke to the people of this country last night, what he said in English was so different from what he said in French?
Referendum Campaign October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the opposition should be very careful when it attacks the past of a man who has dedicated more than 30 years of his life to politics and by whom the interests of Quebec and Canada were well served.
The people in the Bloc Quebecois and the Parti Quebecois and their separatist leaders have made a habit of attacking the person of the Prime Minister instead of sticking to the issues. They obviously have no more arguments of substance to prove that separation would be a good thing, so now they attack personalities. There is no doubt that the federation has evolved in a positive way in recent years.
The hon. member for Roberval says it is meaningless. Is it meaningless to acknowledge that the quiet revolution took place in Quebec within the federation, within Canada?
Is it meaningless to acknowledge that Quebec's language rights were asserted, protected and augmented in recent years within Quebec and Canada? Is it meaningless to point out that Quebec industrialists have managed to win back Quebec's economy and play a far more important role than they did 20, 25 or 30 years ago, in Quebec and Canada?
Referendum Campaign October 26th, 1995
Mr. Speaker, our government has accomplished a great deal since it came to power. Between 1984 and 1993 we were not there, unfortunately, but in the February 1995 budget we announced a major shift toward decentralization. Through our program review, we have to restrict the role of the federal government in the various areas for which it is responsible.
Furthermore, in addition to offering the provinces a mechanism for reducing duplication, we signed 64 agreements to that end within the past 18 months, including a dozen agreements with Quebec.
Referendum Campaign October 23rd, 1995
Mr. Speaker, the statement I made is true, it speaks for itself and it stands. What is important is that, in the last week of the referendum, we can no longer divert Quebecers' attention onto such matters, we must concentrate on the basic issue, because a third of the voters in Quebec still believe they will continue to remain in Canada, even if they say yes. This is wrong. Quebecers must know the truth, and the truth is that separation will mean they can no longer live in Canada.