Gérard Asselin

[Forestry, June 10th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. On Wednesday, the Minister of Natural Resources announced that she intended to develop federal standards on sustainable forest management, with a view to introduce a national certification program for forest products.

Since forests are a strictly provincial field of jurisdiction, does the Deputy Prime Minister feel that such an initiative is legitimate without the agreement of all provinces? Does she not think that the provinces should, together, agree on common

standards for sustainable forest management, instead of the federal government getting involved?

[Yukon First Nations Self-Government Act, June 9th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving me a chance to comment and to question the member who just spoke.

As the Minister of Indian Affairs said, after 21 years of consultation, after 21 years of thinking and talks between the government and native organizations, especially in the Yukon, it is time to act.

I must congratulate the government on reaching a conclusion in its present term for good relations between the government and native communities. I believe that the First Nations, the native people, including those in the Yukon, want and demand their full autonomy so that they can take on more responsibility themselves. Unfortunately, Canadians often say that natives live

at the expense of whites. I think that the native community in the Yukon is very advanced because today it is ready to become more independent and to take over some of its responsibilities and autonomy.

Also, I think that the self-government which the natives demand will enable them to develop their resources properly and keep their customs.

In my riding, Charlevoix in Quebec, I have two native communities, inhabited by Montagnais, and as the member for Charlevoix, I must defend these communities as I defend all my constituents. Besides, my oldest child is a Montagnais boy whom we adopted. He will be twelve on July 10 and I consider him as much as the two children we had later.

I think that the native community in the Yukon is calling for more dialogue between their communities and the government because they want to share their ideas. In closing, I want to commend the native community of the Yukon for claiming its rights and being heard by the government. I also congratulate it on taking charge of its economic development.

Does the Reform Party member who preceded me think it possible that the Yukon natives are more advanced than the Reform Party?

[Association Canadienne-Française De L'Ontario, June 8th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, according to Mr. André Lalonde who will take over at the helm of the Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario next month, ACFO intends to reach out and grasp the hand extended to it last Friday by the Leader of the Bloc Quebecois.

We congratulate ACFO for its courage and determination and for refusing, in spite of the pressure put on it by Liberal franco-ontarian members and ministers, to allow a partisan line to be dictated to it and for its desire to remain faithful to franco-ontarian interests.

We encourage leaders in the rest of Canada to follow ACFO's example and to come to the realization that their relations with Quebec are about to take on an entirely different complexion.

The Bloc Quebecois hopes that this gesture is the first step to achieving greater co-operation between francophones in Quebec and those in the rest of Canada.

[Government Contracts, June 2nd, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I was asking the minister how he would feel if, some day, he was accused of patronage. I know that the minister does his best to monitor his department but, as I asked at a conference on taxation: Is it the civil servants who spend too much, or is it the politicians who are bad managers?

The Minister of Finance replied that it was the politicians who were spending too much.

I think politicians spend too much, often because of a lack of adequate controls. To provide us with the list of contracts awarded is simply a form of control allowing us to monitor the money spent in each department.

During the proceedings of a commission on public works and government services, I asked a question to the Minister of Public Works and Government Services.

My question was: "Minister, are you prepared to confirm and to pledge to this commission that you will make public tenders in the newspapers, prepare a public notice and adequate specifications, review the tenders, and then accept the lowest qualified bid?"

You will not believe the minister's answer. He said: "I will not pledge to accept the lowest qualified bid". Again, we are talking about the lowest qualified bid. As I said at the beginning of my speech, a minister's responsibility is to administer public goods and taxes; yet, the minister will not pledge to accept the lowest qualified bidder.

This means that the minister who, I am convinced, spoke in good faith, runs the risk of being betrayed some day by someone who might give a contract to a friend, with the result that the newspapers would relate another patronage decision benefitting some friend of the party who may have paid $1,000 to attend a fundraising dinner, or who may have made significant contributions to the party's finances.

This would be unfortunate for the minister, and also for department officials. We want the government to do what it, not us, said it would do. Indeed, the Prime Minister himself said that, if elected, he would promote total openness and integrity, and would open all the government books.

As Mrs. Guay said, patronage decisions were made during the nine years of Conservative government. If we do not provide a way to monitor the process, the present government may well be faced with a similar situation.

They also say they want to reduce the deficit. I think it is an excellent idea to prevent waste by agreeing to call for tenders and give all bidders a chance to bid on a contract and give them a chance to work for the government.

To give them that chance, the government has to give public notification and publish such notices in the media. We do not want a situation like the one the Conservatives created when they agreed to privatize Pearson Airport, something the present government could have ratified.

The present Liberal government could have ratified this contract and the helicopter contract as well. Why did it refuse? Already there are some doubts. They should abide by what was said during the election campaign and what they said in the red book. You said you would be open to a fault. You said you would reduce the deficit, although the government's last budget predicted a deficit of $39.7 billion.

You also said you would get rid of the GST, although the government is getting ready not to abolish the tax but to change its name-VAT, TOC, whatever-but the GST will not disappear. I think the government has a responsibility to manage our tax money. They are responsible for managing the revenue they get from taxpayers. And we in the Bloc Quebecois who with other Quebecers send $28 billion annually in income tax to the government, are concerned about the way our tax money is being administered, and this does not include what we pay through the GST.

We think that the government is ashamed or just does not want to table the documentation which is simply a way to find out in which ridings in Quebec and Ontario contracts have been awarded.

It might be interesting to find out how much it costs the government to do something within its own administration. If the government does not table this information, that is because it is a poor manager. The government should manage taxpayers money as carefully as municipalities do this in Quebec, and I am sure in the rest of Canada.

I was a municipal councillor for 14 years in Baie-Comeau, and according to the legislation on cities and towns, the municipal council was obliged, by resolution, to award a contract to the lowest bidder. I would ask the government, which manages far more money than the municipalities, to be as careful as they are about managing taxpayers' money.

As the parliamentary secretary pointed out, I know I can have access to certain documents thanks to the Access to Information Act, but this is quite a production. You need the nature of the contract, the contract number and the date on which the contract was awarded, and the result is still zilch.

[Government Contracts, June 2nd, 1994]

Madam Speaker, as member for Charlevoix, I am pleased to rise today to support the motion moved in this House this afternoon by the hon. member for Laurentides, Quebec, and seconded by the hon. member for Rimouski-Témiscouata.

What does the Bloc Quebecois demand in this motion? Simply that the government put all papers on the table and fulfil through concrete measures the promises made by the Liberals during the election campaign, namely to be transparent, to act with integrity and to hide nothing from Canadians.

I am terribly surprised at the beginning of this debate on the motion of the hon. member for Laurentides because we are simply asking the government to table all contracts awarded during the month. It is very transparent, very normal. The government has the responsibility-just as we do as the Official Opposition-to ensure that public funds, that the taxes paid by Quebecers and Canadians, are well administered.

When the hon. member for Laurentides told me about her motion, I was sure that it would not make waves, that it would be adopted by unanimous consent in this House, that the Liberals would always throughout their mandate-and not only during the election campaign-want to preserve this great spirit of transparency.

We want to raise another issue. Quite recently, I attended with the hon. member for Laurentides a meeting where the Minister of Public Works and Government Services was present. That is where the shoe started to pinch.

Would you, Minister of Public Works and Government Services who, with your officials, administer a very large budget, agree-

[Budget Implementation Act, May 31st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, would you please call the hon. member to order. If he wants to comment, he should be polite enough to listen and comment after the hon. member has finished her speech. Good manners also apply here in the House.

[Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, May 24th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, further to what was said by the Liberal member on Bill C-28, I welcome this opportunity to make a few comments, which will be followed by a question for the hon. member who just made his speech on Bill C-28.

This morning, I listened to the Minister of Human Resources Development discussing Bill C-28, the new legislation to help students. Well, it is about time. It is about time the government improved the system to help students who are studying away from home and students who are doing postgraduate work. But unfortunately, in the last budget brought down by the Minister of Finance, with its projected deficit of $39.7 billion, and I say projected, because unless there is some degree of economic growth and job recovery in the near future, I think the deficit will be well over $39.7 billion.

My point is this. I would like to remind the hon. member that in his last budget, the Minister of Finance announced a $7.5 billion cut in social programs, spread over the next three years, and this will have an impact on social programs. For instance, the government is talking about programs to keep students from dropping out of school and to help them go on to university, which means some students will have to leave home, because not all municipalities have a CEGEP or university.

Obviously the minister's bill will get students even deeper in debt. They will have easier access to loans and bursaries, and while they are still taking their courses they will only have to pay back the interest. Today, if you want to get a bachelor's degree, it takes at least three years of CEGEP, often away from home, and four or five years of university. It all adds up every year, and not all expenses are eligible for the program. I am thinking of accommodation, transportation costs, food and

clothing, all of which are not necessarily eligible for the program. Here again, the parents must foot the bill.

In a previous speech on taxation, I asked the government to introduce some income tax measures to help parents who indirectly subsidize their children and pay for the education of those who go to school away from home. A person who lives in Charlevoix, Baie-Comeau, Baie Saint-Paul, or la Malbaie and sends his children to Quebec City or Montreal, or even farther away, spends a minimum of $8,000 to $10,000 annually on transportation, accommodation, food and clothing. I would suggest that the government make it possible for the main earner in a family where a child is sent to school away from home to deduct part of the cost involved from his income tax.

[Bosnia, May 11th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the situation continues to deteriorate around the Muslim enclave of Gorazde. Serb forces have yet to pull back the rest of their troops and heavy weapons according to the agreed procedure.

Just days before a meeting between Russia and the West scheduled for Friday in Geneva to examine new peace initiatives, agreements continue to be violated on both sides, logistic support convoys to be held back, medical evacuations to be cancelled and relief to be blocked.

For the time being, it would seem that no further NATO air strikes are planned. At the slightest sign of hesitation, the Serbs will assume that the West's will to launch punitive air raids is failing.

Let us hope that the warring factions will show the will to reach a compromise as soon as possible so that the situation can stop deteriorating and peace initiatives be successful.

[Supply, May 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I must admit that the hon. member for Matapédia-Matane did listen very carefully to my comments about seniors.

As I said earlier, seniors pay taxes from the day they are born until they retire. Even after they retire, the government still finds a way to claw back by taxing any income of $26,500 or more they derive from their pension funds, their RRSPs and other financial resources they managed to set aside while raising their families.

Today's families are a little smaller than they used to be; families with 9, 10 or 12 children were not uncommon when I was growing up. Today, they are not as common but it was hard for the man who was the sole income-earner in his family to support his family and save some money for retirement at the same time.

I also said, and I am sure that in my riding of Charlevoix, from Petite-Rivière-Saint-François to Baie-Comeau, some seniors have enough money to survive, but many more were farmers, worked for minimum wage, or had to leave the region, while the mother had to raise the children on her own.

Of course, as the hon. member for Matane said, the committee we want to set up could look at family trusts, for instance, and also look at the additional corporate revenues the government does not want to tax, preferring to tax capital.

We have our work cut out for us. We have been elected for the next four years and I think we in the Bloc Quebecois must not be prevented from doing our job. Liberal members opposite often accuse us of criticizing government actions. I hope they do not want to prevent us from doing our job.

I am convinced that the silent majority is not here in this House but in people's living rooms; they may be watching us on TV and when they see us on the street, in stores or in other places, they congratulate us and tell us they agree with our comments in this House.

I did not complete extensive studies in accounting and I am not a tax expert either. I am a construction worker like most people in my riding and that of Matane. I am pleased to represent them and be able to address them as equals.

So, Mr. Speaker, I think I have taken enough time to respond to my colleague from Matane-Matapédia and I will let others take part in the debate.

[Supply, May 3rd, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate being able to continue after Oral Question Period. Earlier, when I rose, I was followed by a parliamentary secretary who made a comment. When the time comes to vote on the Bloc Quebecois motion for the creation of a committee to review public finance management, I hope that the parliamentary secretary, who is a Liberal member, will make good on his comments and support our motion.

I explained that a child is burdened with a $20,000 debt the minute he is born. I also talked about students and workers, and I would like to follow up by telling you about the elderly. Our seniors are overtaxed. These people have paid school, municipal, provincial and federal taxes throughout their life. Many of these people raised large families but managed to save a bit of money in RRSPs to enjoy a more comfortable retirement. Unfortunately, the government is still going after these people by forcing them to pay tax when they cash in their RRSPs.

Indeed, in his recent budget, the Minister of Finance decided to tax all seniors with a revenue of $26,500 and up. School and municipal taxes still have to be paid by those who keep their home. Retired seniors with a low income still pay the provincial sales tax as well as the GST. Many people who have reached the age of 65 continue to work because they do not have the means to enjoy a comfortable retirement. Seniors should benefit from major exemptions, so that people can retire no later than when they turn 60, or even 55 if possible.

That would open up new jobs for our young people, for those who graduate from university and wait for the government to create jobs.

The government will tax seniors till the very end, that is until their funerals. Undertaking and burial services are taxed. The GST applies to those services as well as to the cost of a coffin. We will have paid all of our lives and until our death.

The government is racking its brains to find new sources of revenues, but it will choose the easiest solution and increase taxes. The government urgently needs to set up a committee to review the reduction of government expenditures. In its red book, the Liberal government said it wanted to get rid of the GST. Of course, the government wants a hidden tax, that would increase from 7 to 12 per cent. It also wants to tax food, education, books, computers, all basic education needs, prescription drugs and health care.

The Bloc Quebecois will strongly oppose any effort by the government to tax prescription drugs and health care among other things, since poverty is rampant in Quebec and in Canada. A lot of people cannot even afford bread and butter.

I think the most urgent thing is to set up this committee. We are going through harsh economic times, and the cost of living is still very high for low-income and very poor families. More and more, wages are being frozen and people are working at the minimum wage. We have to deal with high levels of unemployment and welfare, smuggling, the underground economy, a rise in criminal activity and the fact that our prisons, in Quebec and in Canada, are more and more packed-full. Who pays for all of this? It is our society and our workers.

Under the Conservative government, we were told that the GST was supposed to reduce the deficit, but the deficit has grown ever since. Despite GST revenues of $14 billion, the deficit has tripled during the last nine years the Conservatives were in office.

Finally, I hope the government will set up a committee made up of course of government members who are responsible for running this country. In the latest budget, the Liberal government showed its inability to efficiently manage the public finances. If that committee is to be increasingly efficient, the government should add to its team a group of Bloc Quebecois members because they really want the government to lower taxes or at least freeze them for years to come.

They will have to review all the overlapping and duplication occurring in this government. In Quebec, we do not need the federal government to manage our health program, nor do we need the federal government to manage our education and occupational training, our manpower or our social programs.

It is urgent to cut on travelling expenses for ministers, senators, members of committees and parliamentary associations. Last week I attended a on Public Works meeting and asked the Minister of Public Works if he was ready to say in front of the committee that he would issue a public call for tenders in the papers to give those who wanted to bid the chance to do so; I also asked him if he would accept the lowest bid coming from a compliant bidder. He answered no, that he could not commit himself to that. The government must manage public funds; if businesses were managed like the government, they would all go bankrupt a few weeks after opening. Not a single business is managed like the government.

As a member of the finance committee, if the Liberal Party government invites me to do so, I will be happy to assist and work hard to find places where we can cut out the fat from government operations, items that could bring the budget down.

In conclusion, I would like to congratulate the members of the Bloc Quebecois and of the Reform Party who are concerned and worried because of the increase in the last budget.