Gilles Duceppe

[Indian Affairs, February 21st, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Indian Affairs. Can he tell us what Jerry Peltier's responsibilities and status in the Department of Indian Affairs were during the Oka crisis in the fall of 1990?

[Committees Of The House, February 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, insofar as the Government House leader gives us his word that we will adjourn at 2.30 p.m., we agree to give unanimous consent to have the vote on the prayer. We are more than willing to do so.

[Committees Of The House, February 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, we are ready. Of course, you do not have to beg us to speak about prayers. We are ready to give unanimous consent, as we have already said. We can go on with the debate or agree unanimously to adjourn at 2.30 p.m. without any extension of the sitting. If I have the Government House leader's promise to that effect, we will stop pleading.

[Kanesatake Reserve, February 18th, 1994]

That is not what the Leader of the Opposition said, and she knows that perfectly. I know that she is aware of repugnant statements, she is quite familiar with them.

My question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. Can she confirm the statements of the spokesman for the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, Mr. Russell Roundpoint, who said that many smugglers have AK-47 and AK-15 machine guns which they have admitted using to protect their cargoes of illicit goods in the Akwesasne-Cornwall corridor?

This government wanted names. Russell Roundpoint made those statements. That is one name. What does the Deputy Prime Minister think?

[Kanesatake Reserve, February 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, it is always curious to see the reactions following meetings between Mohawk leaders and the government; there are always at least two versions. At least two.

I ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether she considers acceptable what a Mohawk spokesman from Akwesasne said when he threatened armed reprisals for any police intervention to end smuggling activities.

[Kanesatake Reserve, February 18th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Deputy Prime Minister. The Mohawk leader of Kanesatake, Jerry Peltier, said yesterday that he had the government's assurance that there would be no police or military intervention on that territory to end the criminal activities of certain individuals who are terrorizing the population. The situation has become so serious that the chief editorialist of La Presse , Alain Dubuc believes that tough action from the police and, if necessary, from the armed forces has become inevitable.

Is it true that the government has formally assured the chief of the Mohawk communities that there would be no intervention from the police or from the army to end the smuggling once and for all?

[Points Of Order, February 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I had indicated to the government House leader and the whip that I agreed to have the minister's statement and that we would give our unanimous consent, even though we received the information and the document very late.

Also, we on this side of the House would have appreciated a little more restraint on the part of the governing party in question period, so that there would really be a statement and not a sneak preview of a statement, as happened in question period. Perhaps the minister could have refrained from asking another member to ask him a question which had been well prepared by his department. We give our consent.

[Defence Policy, February 17th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to the speech of the hon. member. It seems he has disregarded an aspect of the national defence policy review and consequently of the Canadian Armed Forces, and that is the work language in the armed forces.

I know that the former Conservative minister, Mr. Masse, had deplored the fact that French language was rarely used in the armed forces and that few francophones got promotions.

I know that in my own riding some members of the reserve cannot take courses in French and, therefore, find themselves barred from getting promotions.

Therefore, I wonder if the government will consider this matter in its review of the general role of the armed forces, and consequently of the operations of the Canadian Armed Forces. I would like to know the government's position on the matter because the present situation appears quite deplorable.

[Business Of Supply, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I realize my colleague shares many of our concerns about social housing. I praise her for that. It reminds me of a debate during the election campaign with, among others, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and member for Papineau-Saint-Michel, a Montreal riding, when we both held the same views and criticized the Conservative government policies cutting all subsidies for co-operative housing.

We had met the same groups between 1990 and 1993 and signed the same petitions to support all those who are involved in, promote and manage co-operative housing. My question to the hon. member is this: Did the government confirm in the throne speech, without my knowledge, its promise to reinstate the co-operative housing program? I may be wrong, but it was in the red book. The throne speech is silent on this matter, although both Liberals and Bloc members criticized Conservative poli-

cies. Liberals promised time and again that when they came into office they would reinstate the co-operative housing program.

Maybe I missed something, but I am sure they will be true to their promise and a decision has already been made. I did not see it, but I would like my hon. colleague to tell me when that decision was made and where it is to be found in the throne speech. Maybe it will be announced in the Minister of Finance's budget speech next Tuesday. I would really like to be better informed.

[Regional Development, February 14th, 1994]

I also understand that this promise was made not only in Montreal during the last election campaign but that it may have been made by chance in Hamilton as well. I am therefore asking the minister responsible for the federal office of regional development whether he fears that the manoeuvres of his colleague, the Minister of the Environment, will deprive Montreal of this environmental centre.