Denis Coderre

[United Nations Mission To Haiti, December 1st, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Yesterday, the Canadian civilian police mission to Haiti came home. The impact of our contingent on the Haitian people was, without a shadow of a doubt, extremely beneficial. In response to President Préval, the security council unanimously decided to create a new civilian police mission.

What is this new UN mission to Haiti and will Canada be participating?

[Canadians, November 26th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am so open-minded that I am going to conclude my remarks quickly to enable another member to speak.

One thing is for sure, however, contrary to what the member for Laurentides has just said to me, I will never shut my trap, I will never stop talking in defence of Canada and the interests and values of Canadians.

If there is to be open-mindedness and appropriate policies, we have to have a Liberal government. I thank the good Lord that we finally, once again, have people like the Secretary of State for Multiculturalism because thanks to her and people who have chosen Canada, we can combat people like those opposite. They have greater merit than I. They chose Canada. They know about Canadian values. They know about Canada's passion and intrinsic value.

I hope that the people of the Bloc Quebecois and the Reform Party will be open-minded and will apologize for wanting to have such a motion passed. This is an insult to a person's intelligence, and it is certainly not what Canada represents.

[Canadians, November 26th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I have been in politics for 15 years to fight against people like Bloc Quebecois and Reform Party members. Why? Because they always talk about ethnic groups.

Jacques Parizeau said that the referendum was lost because of the Jewish, Italian and Greek votes. Then, during the election campaign, the Reform Party was saying “Canadians should not elect another Prime Minister from Quebec”. Now, these people want to tell me what to do. They want to tell me what a Canadian is. I feel insulted and outraged by these extremists.

There is no doubt that multiculturalism is an asset. What is multiculturalism? It means being different but equal. In my riding of Bourassa, 20% of the population is Italian and 5% is Haitian. Many Haitians have settled in my riding of Bourassa.

It is a real asset to share with these people. The fact that I can speak Italian is something positive. Mi fa molto piacere do parlo italiano, signor .

This is what being Canadian is all about. Being Canadian means to benefit from all these cultures.

To me, being a Canadian is to allow people to grow while respecting their roots and traditions. All these cultures make me a better Canadian. This is what makes up the people of Canada.

When I see people constantly trying to define what a Canadian should be, using the highest possible common definition, saying that we are good or bad Quebeckers, I realize why the public is cynical toward politicians. Thank goodness the Liberal Party is in office with a majority. I would be concerned if we were stuck with the ethnic policies of the Reform Party or the Bloc Quebecois.

If, instead of having a national vision like that of the Liberal Party of Canada, we constantly talk about regionalization, as do Reformers and Bloc members, no wonder there are problems.

I wish to commend our Secretary of State for Multiculturalism on her work. I wish to commend her, and I wish to commend all of the members of the Liberal Party of Canada, regardless of place of origin, as well as all of the members of the Reform Party, regardless of place of origin. They all have the opportunity to be in Canada because of equality in difference. Now, today, they want to scrap all of that. I cannot understand the logic of some members of the Reform Party. They should join the Liberal Party, because that is where openmindedness is found.

One thing that is certain, I hope this motion will be defeated. It ought not to have even been moved, because it insults people's intelligence. It is an insult to my Canadianism. I trust, however, that these motions can be taken advantage of as an opportunity for the Bloc Quebecois to ask pardon of those Canadians who are of Jewish, Italian or Greek background, so that it will be possible—

[Canadians, November 26th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I am quite prepared to listen to the member for Berthier—Montcalm, but members of the House have never run down Quebec. We may have run down the Bloc Quebecois, but we never ran down Quebec.

[Jacques Parizeau, November 26th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, the separatists are ashamed. They are ashamed of the words and deeds of their members.

Their latest fabrication is that former FLQ member Raymond Villeneuve is in the pay of the federalists. I say the separatists should have the courage of conviction of their own. Their former premier, Mr. Parizeau, is not at all embarrassed by his shameful remarks to those he considers ethnic minorities.

To eliminate any confusion, I repeat one quote “I admire Mr. Parizeau very much. He is one of the most brilliant politicians of his generation, he is an extraordinary man”. Those are the words of Lucien Bouchard.

I challenge all the members of the Bloc Quebecois, especially the head of the PQ branch in Quebec City, to disclaim the remarks of Jacques Parizeau and the actions of their friend Raymond Villeneuve. If they do not, it means they agree with them.

[Quebec Government, November 25th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, we are told that separatists are playing with the idea of a referendum to ask Quebeckers if they consider themselves a people.

It really takes a separatist not to know that there are two founding peoples in Canada, a reality that is recognized everywhere in the country. For separatists to suggest another referendum on a question to which all Quebeckers already have the answer shows how out of touch they are with reality.

The last referendum cost Quebeckers more than $80 million, according to Le Soleil .

I say to Mr. Bouchard and his henchman of a representative in Ottawa, if you hold a referendum, ask the people if they think that these millions could be put to better use and that asking them silly questions is a good way to manage their money.

[Revenue Canada, November 24th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Revenue.

Canadian taxpayers are concerned about the confidentiality of their tax files after what happened in Quebec City last week. If taxpayers are to have faith in the taxation system, we must ensure the confidentiality of the information provided beyond a shadow of doubt.

Can the parliamentary secretary assure this House and all Canadians that the information provided by taxpayers is kept confidential at Revenue Canada?

[Henri-Bourassa Boulevard, November 20th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, on November 14, the new Henri-Bourassa Boulevard at the edge of Montreal North was officially inaugurated. The project cost $113 million.

It was begun in 1994 and tripled the width of the boulevard over a distance of 8.5 kilometres. Funding for this project was provided by the federal and provincial governments and by the municipalities involved, that is, Montreal, Montreal East, Anjou and Montreal North.

As you can see, federal-provincial co-operation can produce worthwhile results and shows once again that federalism works. This project meets objectives set for the movement of people and goods, and it also provides significant economic support for the industrial development of Montreal's east end.

When two governments put their shoulder to the wheel to carry out projects of this size for Quebec, we wonder why political parties are fighting to separate Quebec from Canada or, in other words, we understand why there is no reason for the Bloc to be in Ottawa.

[Canadian Wheat Board Act, November 20th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, you know what I am good at. If you want us to start rhyming off the names of members of the Bloc Quebecois who have demonstrated their incompetence rather than focus on the present debate, that is fine by me.

But the voters in my riding of Bourassa want to know what is going on with this bill and I would ask the member, who is perhaps not often in his riding, to stick to important issues, in this case the Canadian Wheat Board.

[Canadian Wheat Board Act, November 20th, 1997]

Mr. Speaker, I understand that my friend, the member for Frontenac—Mégantic, can get quite worked up—I'm not sure which hormones are involved—but I think we should stick to the point. What Canadians want to hear is his position on—