Mr. Speaker, we agree, except that it cannot be deferred until two days later; I believe it needs to be quite simply deferred until the next sitting of the House.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 1997, with 47% of the vote.
Bankruptcy And Insolvency Act October 10th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, we agree, except that it cannot be deferred until two days later; I believe it needs to be quite simply deferred until the next sitting of the House.
Job Creation October 4th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, is political instability the reason why New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland have an even higher rate of unemployment than Quebec? Yet there is no talk of separation in these provinces.
After 2 years and 10 months of power, this government is crowing about having created 669,000 jobs, while the former government created 930,000 jobs in the same length of time. For a government that was elected to create jobs, we have seen better.
When will this government stop patting itself on the back and admit that it has not yet delivered on its main election promise?
Job Creation October 4th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, what the Conference Board is saying is that low productivity is the primary reason for the lack of investment in research and development and the lack of job training. A distinction must be made.
My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. If it had wanted to bring back the sort of job market the people of Quebec and of Canada had in 1989, in terms of the unemployment rate and the participation rate, this government would have had to create over one and a half million jobs since it came to power. According to its own statistics, the government has created only 669,000 jobs. It still has over 800,000 to go.
Does the Deputy Prime Minister realize that, at the rate this government is going with job creation, it would take at least four more years before we see conditions similar to those of seven years ago before the last recession?
Prisons And Reformatories Act October 1st, 1996
Mr. Speaker, the members of the Bloc Quebecois will be voting for this bill.
Revenue Canada September 27th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, we have noticed that the government acts only when it has its back against the wall, as was the case with smuggling. Every day, the revenue minister is allowing hundreds of thousands of dollars or even millions in tax revenue to be lost. By not going after the $630 million owed her department, the minister is making a royal gift to major corporations on the back of taxpayers.
What are the government and its minister waiting to take action?
Revenue Canada September 27th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister.
This government is collecting scandals the way some people collect stamps. After the family trust scandal, yesterday the auditor general condemned Revenue Canada for allowing several major corporations to avoid paying duties and excise taxes to the tune of some $630 million a year.
Given that the time limit for a tax audit is four years, can the Deputy Prime Minister explain why Revenue Canada has conducted only one audit of all the major oil and tobacco companies, thus preventing the government from recovering several million of dollars with each audit?
The 150Th Anniversary Of The Séminaire De Joliette September 27th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, on Sunday, September 29, Joliette's oldest educational institution will celebrate its 150th anniversary.
In 1846, Barthélemy Joliette, the founder of the city, established the Collège Joliette, which later became the Séminaire de Joliette, then the Académie Antoine-Manseau, and now the Cégep Joliette-de-Lanaudière. Headed by the Clercs de Saint-Viateur, with the support of secular priests and lay persons, this institution has always offered top quality education and training, and boasts among its former students the current Prime Minister of Canada and member for Shawinigan, and the deputy premier of Quebec, Jean-Bernard Landry.
Today, I have the great privilege of paying tribute to my former alma mater. The dedication, perseverance and generosity of its builders contributed significantly to the enrichment of our country and to the development of Quebecers.
Bertrand Litigation September 20th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, speaking of the Bertrand litigation, the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Mr. Johnson, told the daily Le Soleil , and I quote: ``I find it is not appropriate to start up the legal squabbling over sovereignty all over again''.
Can the minister tell us whether he shares that opinion?
Bertrand Litigation September 20th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Justice.
Yesterday, Guy Bertrand announced, before a select group of VIPs close to the highest echelons of the Liberal Party of Canada, that he wished to pursue his legal crusade against Quebec's attaining sovereignty. Last May, the minister stated that the main reason for the federal involvement in the Bertrand court case was the position the Government of Quebec had taken.
Now that the Government of Quebec is withdrawing from the case, could the minister tell us what could now motivate his intervention alongside Mr. Bertrand?
Committees Of The House September 19th, 1996
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member for Calgary Centre is absolutely right. True, this is what the law says but it is also true that we are often guided by the traditions and practices in our parliamentary system.
But if we look only at the legislation, the Bloc Quebecois proposed candidates for the position of vice-chair in the various committees and managed to convince the government representative to vote for them. All this proves is that we had the same right as Reform members. We exercised this right and, since we are better than they are, we managed to convince the government to vote for our candidates. That is why some of our members are now committee vice-chairs, and this was done democratically.