René Canuel

[Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act, February 9th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I want to thank my hon. colleague who appears to be highly sensitive to the plight of the regions. It is true that very often when we think of Canada, we think of large cities. Large urban centres are often represented by several members, and sometimes by several ministers. That is why I say that federalism has proven to be a failure for regions such as mine, and most likely for regions such as his.

Basically, federalism has proven to be an even greater failure in the regions. It has failed throughout Quebec, but especially in the regions. True, equalization and transfer payments are supposed to help the poorer regions. However, I have only one voice and compared to that of Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal, the voice of regional members is not heard because they represent a much smaller number of people.

When I decided to run in my riding, it was for a very special reason, namely to heighten the awareness of city dwellers of the poverty in our regions. We have a great deal of talent. We have tremendous human capital, but as we all know, when people leave to attend large universities, they do not return. On this point, I agree completely with my hon. colleague. We need to focus more on the regions and give them as much as possible.

Because, when towns cease to exists, cities decline and eventually disappear.

I want to thank my hon. colleague and let him know that I am very sensitive to his concerns. I agree that more has to be done for our regions.

[Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act, February 9th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, since the beginning of this debate on Bill C-3, several experts have tried to prove with figures that equalization was not necessarily fair, and I am sure it is not.

Coming from a remote area, from one of the poorest ridings, I see farmers forced to sell their land, I see our trees sold without any processing, in short I see serious problems. I am not prepared to say that equity from sea to sea applies to my riding.

However I wish to focus on education. Therefore I will deal more specifically with transfers to education. In a country like Canada and in a future nation like Quebec, it is essential that we devote every effort to manpower training. I spent my life in education and I know that without proper training it is unrealistic today to expect a decent standard of living.

Education and training are the keys to economic, social and cultural development. They are also the keys to our success, nationally and internationally. Our labour force must be upgraded on a continuing basis if we want to meet the challenges of today and especially those of the future.

The federal government started to grant money directly to universities in 1951, although education was officially a provincial matter. At that time, and justifiably, Quebec strongly opposed that move.

In 1961 the federal government transferred to Quebec 1 per cent of corporate income tax in order to allow the province to give its educational institutions equivalent grants.

The cost sharing arrangements for post-secondary education were revised in 1967. The federal government agreed then to transfer to the provinces 50 per cent of the operating costs of post-secondary education institutions. These agreements then took the form of tax point transfers and cash payments to all the provinces. In 1977, these agreements were merged into one program called Established Programs Financing.

Previously advanced education was accessible only to a privileged few. Education was reserved for a minority. At that time, the only university for all of the Gaspé Peninsula, the North Shore and the Lower St. Lawrence was Laval in Quebec city. The ordinary people of our regions, whom we called the poor, did not have access to that institution. It meant that only some people, part of the elite, could go to college and the others had to stay home because they could not afford it. What did they do? They became welfare or unemployment insurance recipients.

Be that as it may, after World War II, there was a mass communication explosion; our planet was about to become a global village. It was no longer possible to deny the people their right to a better education and better training. All young people wanted to study and our system quickly overflowed, to such an extent that in 1967 we had to create the CEGEPs, general and vocational colleges.

At that time, Quebec's Department of Education said it could not meet the demand. That year, only ten CEGEPs were created, but others followed. Progress was not to stop there. We had to build or expand universities to meet the demand and governments invested considerable amounts in that area. Another major factor at that time was the fact that people wanted to get good training in vocational sectors.

What triggered the whole process was the coming home of soldiers after World War II. We had to find jobs for them. We had to put them back in the labour market. But before anything else, if they were to have a real opportunity to succeed, they had to be trained. We created a country-wide network of technical schools which were merged with the CEGEPs during the 1960s and 1970s. Only a few schools still remain independent.

Furthermore, the adults who were already working wanted advancement so they also wanted access to higher learning. The demand for education increased unbelievably. All this led to the development of a sound education system across the country, thus raising the general level of education. In some specific areas, it increased very rapidly.

Another very important aspect of this revolution that swept North America, is the fact that women were admitted in colleges. Before that, only men had access to higher education. Thanks to the efforts made by Quebec in the area of education, there are now more women than men enroled in higher education establishments. And so it should be.

In spite of its many successes, our education system still needs to be improved, and for that, the help of the federal government is essential, especially as regards post-secondary education. In my riding, we only have one CEGEP and no university. The slightest tuition fee increase closes the door to post-secondary education for some of our young people, depriving them of the necessary training to face the challenges of the next century.

Each dollar we do not invest brings our young people, and our adults too, closer to having to depend on unemployment insurance and welfare. Every year, in my riding, the rates go up. Is it what this government wants? Is it what we want, unemployment and people on welfare? It is not possible to go back in 1994. By investing less in post-secondary education, do we think that we can continue to develop this country and get out of the economic problems it is going through?

Certainly our education system is not perfect, but it is highly defensible, especially in Quebec. Like any system, it must continue to be improved. We cannot improve it by cutting its funding.

We have let parents and teachers have their say in our education system. Now it is up to us in the government to follow through on the right to speak which we have given them. Parents are speaking up and so are students aged 16 to 20. They are afraid of unemployment. Today, I speak on their behalf.

Can we again go back on this point?

We must bring the debate back to the real issue. Do we want a better future for our fellow citizens? Do we want to give our desperate young people a real chance? Do we want Canada and Quebec to continue to enjoy a good standing among developed nations? If that is what the government wants, it cannot cut transfers to the provinces, especially for post-secondary education. Our future depends on it. Furthermore, post-secondary education is in provincial jurisdiction. In Quebec, we need all the available resources.

I want to speak out here against the principle of a ceiling on equalization. For Quebec, it means a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars over the next five years.

I am speaking against Bill C-3 because it extends the ceiling on equalization payments. On the contrary, we need a complete reform of all transfer payments to the provinces.

The cuts made by the federal government in established programs financing reduced the federal share of funding of health and post-secondary education programs in Quebec from 45 per cent in 1984 to 32 per cent in 1993. Government spending on research and development is much lower in Quebec, whatever the criterion used.

It is unacceptable to let this government darken our future by depriving us of money that we send in taxes which should be used to educate our youth and adults. It is too important for the survival of Quebec and the riding of Matapédia. As long as we pay taxes, we must get this return. It is too important for the young people and adults in my riding. Madam Speaker, you can be assured that I will demand it.

[Social Security System, February 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to my hon. colleague. She is full of good intentions. It is true that there is a substantial wage differential between men and women. When you talk about youth issues, it also concerns me directly. Except that the hon. member said: "We want to do something, but we are not sure what". There are things you can do when you are in office.

In my riding, youth unemployment has reached 50 per cent, not 30 per cent but 50 per cent. In my riding, there are no universities. This means that we are continually experiencing a brain drain. And those who leave do not come back. You are very sensitive to that problem and you are full of good intentions, but the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So-

[Social Security System, January 31st, 1994]

Madam Speaker, thank you for recognizing my riding. I want to thank the hon. member who seems to be very much aware of the problems of young people. I don't know whether he is as knowledgeable about rural ridings.

In my riding, I taught at a secondary school and occasionally at a CEGEP, where conditions are very bad. People talk about urban poverty, and I realize that poverty in urban areas may be worse than in rural areas. However, conditions in rural areas may be worse, to some extent, because our young people leave to go the city, and so we have fewer skills and resources.

I had students of 16 and 17 who were very disturbed and had a lot of problems. There were cases of runaways and drugs, and at one point we had to call in the police. I know the hon. member opposite is aware of the problems, but not all members of this House know the rural dimension.

That is why I would urge him and other members to think about what is happening in our schools in rural ridings. We have just one CEGEP. There is no university. This means students have to leave the area, for instance those from Mont-Joli. Amqui only has a secondary school which means that past the age of 16 or 17, after their Secondaire V, students have to leave town to go to the CEGEP. And of course the college is in Matane, so if they want to go to university, they have to leave town as well.

Is the hon. member prepared to look at conditions in rural areas, and does he have any suggestions on how he could help our students, our young people overcome these handicaps?

[Speech From The Throne, January 28th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, since this will be my maiden speech in the House, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all members on their election. It would have been nice to see more members opposite, because it may be the only time I have cause to congratulate them. The Bible says that on the seventh day, God rested, but I see my colleagues opposite start resting on the fifth.

If all members of this Parliament are imbued, as I am, with a desire to serve our constituents, during this session we should be able to put in place all that is necessary for genuine economic recovery. Economic recovery is essential for this country and even more so for my riding.

Voters in the riding of Matapédia-Matane expect a lot from their federal member. At the beginning of this mandate, my constituents are delighted they finally have a member who will be able to speak his mind, and speak it more often, in this House and in the riding.

I also want to take this opportunity to offer my constituents my full co-operation and thank them for their support. I will do everything in my power to give them what they are entitled to expect of a federal member, especially a sovereigntist member in Ottawa.

In fact, voters in Matapédia-Matane made a very clear choice on October 25. My opponent, whose party is on the government side today, received the full support of the party machine, but voters made a clear decision. Once again, I want to take this opportunity to thank them.

For me, to participate actively in politics is part and parcel of my longstanding commitment to my community. I believe in this wonderful region, in the energy and determination of the people who live there, and that is the main reason for my commitment.

My presence in the House today as a member of the Bloc Quebecois also arises from an act of faith in the sovereignty of Quebec. To be sovereign means to be free to do things one's own way and it also means to be in charge of one's own economic and social development.

People in the riding of Matapédia-Matane have the energy and determination to take charge of their own lives. People consult each other and share the tools they need to develop the impressive potential of their region, whether we are talking about forestry, tourism, mining or other sectors of the economy. The men and women of this riding have set up consultation tables where they share their experience.

In my riding, we have industry and business people who believe in that region and who do their share for the development of that new social contract. It is with those people that I want to work. It is for those men and women that I came to this House.

So, my goal is twofold: the development of my riding and the sovereignty of Quebec.

Let me introduce you in a few words to the riding of Matapédia-Matane. I live in a community of about 5 000 people that have provided the Church with three bishops who are still alive.

They are His Grace the Archbishop Louis Lévesque, who was born in Amqui, His Lordship Belzile, who is now in Africa, and His Lordship Dumais, who has just been appointed to the Gaspé diocese. He is a friend and I am very proud of that. Perhaps a new Guinness record has just been established in my riding.

The main resource in my riding is forestry and, because people believed in them, we managed to keep several villages from closing in the early 1970s. Forest business owners got together to establish a management company and used known forestry methods to develop their forests. They were so successful that twenty years later, in 1993, the Canadian Forestry Association bestowed upon the 17 MRC municipalities of the Matapédia Valley the title of forest capital of Canada. I take this opportunity to congratulate its president, Mr. Daniel Lamarre, and all his team.

The commitment towards forest management as an economic development tool for ensuring the survival of the small communities of my riding is well underway. We owe it to those workers and owners who once believed that it was possible for them to continue living in their communities.

On the north shore of the Gaspe Peninsula, there is also a fishery industry. It is going through an unprecedented crisis, and it needs help. Everyone here has heard about the delicious Matane shrimp and has feasted on them.

In that part of the riding there is also aquaculture, a fast-growing industry which shows considerable promise, because of the constant crises in the fisheries.

There is also the Maurice Lamontagne Institute, in Sainte-Flavie, where they carry out interesting and much needed research on sea products. By the way, the institute is still waiting for funds to finish the breakwater in order to dock its research boat. Unfortunately, funds for this project were reallocated by the former government. It is costing the institute extra money each year to dock the boat elsewhere.

In Mont-Joli, the regional airport has been waiting almost ten years for millions of dollars. Let me says that I will keep asking for those funds.

In my riding there is a shipyard managed by a very dynamic team of women employing a highly skilled labour force. That industry is also going through a crisis. It too needs help.

The tourist industry is big in the riding of Matapédia-Matane. We have ski resorts with a skiing season longer than anywhere else east of the Rockies, and using only natural snow. Come and see us some time, come and ski with us, hon. members.

I could not fully describe the riding of Matapédia-Matane without mentioning its wildlife. Hunters and fishermen come from all over Canada, and from abroad to practice their favourite sport. Our salmon rivers, like the Matapédia and the Matane rivers, are renowned worldwide. All these sectors must be recognized as part of our regional economy.

Matapédia-Matane used to be an agricultural riding, but unfortunately agriculture is waning. There are fewer opportunities for the young generation since farms have become small and medium-sized businesses or large corporations. Fine, you say! Perhaps. However, it is far from easy to find people willing to assume such a heavy financial burden. The way things stand now, young people simply cannot respond to the challenge.

In the past, even though they worked hard, our ancestors knew very early that there would be someone to carry on. Nowadays, there is no one willing to carry on because the burden is much too heavy. So people auction off their farms. What a pity! Lands with high quality topsoil lay fallow and are invaded by weeds or spruce. Even well-established and hard-working farmers have enormous problems.

Both the GATT and NAFTA have given rise to many concerns! The removal of export quotas creates others, for those who unfortunately have to work endless hours over the years. While farmers in the past were a great source of pride to rural communities, they are now disappearing before ours very eyes.

Instead of giving out millions of dollars worth of unemployment benefits in my riding and others within Quebec or Canada, is a responsible government not supposed to fight for and get globally a fair price, an equivalent value for our farm products? For years the Liberals and the Conservatives have had no consideration for the rights of small communities. Is this government going to keep neglecting those farmers? They start by overtaxing them, then they shut down their post offices and they deprive them of their means of communications by closing down television stations, and so on. I will ask for a new review of the case of Radio-Matane.

In my riding, there are some cattle farms. Yet, no slaughterhouse is to be found within 250 kilometers. Is this not unbelievable? So much for the village, so much for the city. Is the minister of Agriculture well acquainted with rural areas? Is he really concerned with the real problems? Villages such as Les Méchins, Saint-Charles-Garnier, Petite-Matane, Val-Brillant, Saint-Damase, Saint-Noël, Sainte-Jeanne and Sainte-Irène are charming areas that have a right to survive and where people have the right to work. It is a matter of dignity. Yet, for more than 20 years, these small villages have had problems.

The question I am asking myself and my colleagues in this House is whether people in these small villages still have the right to live at home. As long as these rural people pay taxes to the federal government, I will fight for them. That is why they elected me. They are not getting their due. These men and women have spent their lives in forestry, fishing or farming; they spent all their energy to raise a family and now, at 55, tired, exhausted and even sick sometimes, they have no pension fund. Should they be considered as pariahs of our society? No, Madam Speaker!

I will plead for those men and women who have preserved true family values, values so important that 1994 will be the International Year of the Family. I will also fight for the young people, a human resource of great richness, for those young people who have to leave their region after high school or, in some cases, after college. Unfortunately, most of them never come back.

I ask all the members of the House to be more receptive, more understanding of the rural way of life. The same thing could happen to forestry in the near future. The former government had announced it was withdrawing from the subsidiary agreement with Quebec on forestry and from the forest development program in eastern Quebec.

The non-renewal of these two programs will affect more than 18,000 foresters in eastern Quebec. In the lower St. Lawrence region, more than 50 per cent of private woodlot owners take part in development whereas that figure is about 12 per cent for the province as a whole.

During the campaign, the Liberal Party acknowledged the positive impact of these programs and promised it would examine its financial contribution and bring it back to previous levels. I will personally see to it that they fulfill that commitment. The Minister of Natural Resources can count on my co-operation. These programs must be re-evaluated and she must consult all stakeholders. It is those involved in the area who can best advise her.

At a time when, on a global scale, there is so much talk of sustainable development and the protection of ecosystems I can assure this House that, in my riding, forestry workers are ready and eager to meet the challenge.

More that 20 years ago, pool management came to my riding. Two thousand producers are still on the waiting list to take part in this collective effort.

The area set up the necessary structures to carry on. We have a forestry school and a research centre in Causapscal. Our workforce is better qualified and increasingly competent.

When the previous government decided to make cuts in those two programs, it did not understand that putting money into private woodlots yields returns far in excess of the initial investment.

Investing in forestry is investing in the industry's future. Investing in private woodlots is bringing raw material closer to the processing industry. Investing in private woodlots is ensuring the survival of dynamic small businesses, but also the creation of thousands of jobs in rural communities. Investing in forestry is investing for the long term in an industry which has always brought pride to this country and the 370 Quebec communities it supports.

Can the government ignore the efforts made by the forestry producers in my riding, who have done so much to promote forest development? Now is not the time to let them down. On the contrary, now is the time to streamline those programs to increase their efficiency. We must support the full development of the forestry industry, in Quebec and Canada. To stop investing in private woodlots would mean the certain death of all small remote communities.

We must increase research into new technologies, and speed up their transfer to those who really need them to make our industry more competitive on the world markets.

We must develop new products which will bring to the regions new small businesses which create so many well-paying jobs.

Resources must be processed locally. We no longer want to be drawers of water and hewers of wood. People in my riding deserve much more than that.

We must develop new markets for these products. And last but not least, we must aim at quality. People in my riding know what quality is.

Those are the very realistic mandates that we, in this House, can give ourselves. It is what my constituents are asking.

Men and women in the riding of Matapédia-Matane want to be actively involved in meeting the challenges of the 21st century.

Experts agree that if a major effort is not made in the next five years to rescue the forestry industry in Canada, it will be too late. This means that what was once a flagship Canadian industry will drag down in its fall hundreds of thousands of jobs, and hence hundreds of small communities depending on forestry.

I was deeply disappointed that the speech from the throne did not even mention the natural resources sector.

Let's not forget that we do not inherit the land of our fathers, we borrow the land of our children. I believe that the people of my riding, those of Quebec, British Columbia and the Maritimes need help to make our natural resources more and more productive and more and more profitable.

[Tragedy In Les Boules, January 28th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the small village of Les Boules in my constituency was hit by a terrible tragedy last Tuesday, when five members of one family died in the fire that destroyed their home. Mr. Michel St-Pierre and his four daughters, Julie, Claudia, Jessie and Émilie, aged 15 months to 11 years, all died in the blaze. Only the mother, Martine, miraculously got away. Mr. St-Pierre was well known in the area for his involvement in municipal politics and his performance in various sports. The couple also did volunteer work to help the destitute in the area.

I want to express my deepest sympathy to the friends and family of Mr. St-Pierre as well as to his fellow citizens. This loss will deeply affect this small community.

[Speech From The Throne, January 27th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my hon. colleague for speaking about rural Canada. She seems to be very fond of small communities. She also spoke about post offices and it is true that the post office in a small community is a vitally important institution.

In my riding we have the Ralliement populaire . Before that we had Opération dignité the goal of which was to save small communities, because if small communities are allowed to die out, surely the same fate will befall small towns.

Therefore I share my hon. colleague's sentiments and she can rest assured that she has an ally in me.

Now, regarding the question of post offices, one of my constituents called to tell me that new postal outlets were still opening up. And while there have been no further post office closures per se since a moratorium has or will be imposed, I would like the hon. member to tell me if in fact it is true that new postal outlets are opening up?

[Speech From The Throne, January 19th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the member's remarks and I was rather moved. He spoke from the heart and I liked it; however, a country is not built only with a heart but also with reason. He talked about building bridges. He talked about a railroad from coast to coast. True enough, but the problem is that in my riding of Matapédia-Matane, railway travel is a problem. Last year, we had to apply tremendous pressure to try to improve the situation.

There was Meech Lake, and some people of good will who tried to build bridges. Five small conditions, five requests which Mr. Bourassa called a minimum, and rightly so. Indeed, this country is vast, huge, but we are two founding nations which do not feel at home from coast to coast.

You also talked about employment. My riding of Matapédia-Matane is among the poorest in Canada. Unemployment rates are astounding. I am going to ask you a question. You occasionally mentioned forestry and agriculture, but I did not see one line referring to natural resources, that is to say mines, energy, water and forestry. Could you explain why? If you want to build something and, above all, create jobs-