Jean Chrétien

[Quebec Referendum, September 26th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, this is what we have always maintained. What the Bloc Quebecois and the Parti Quebecois are proposing is Quebec's separation, except that they are trying to hide this behind all kinds of words designed to obscure the truth.

They tried to come up with what they said was a winning question, but look at the confusion they have created. A third of the people who say they will vote Yes think Quebec will remain a Canadian province after separation. That is what poll takers are reporting today.

They should be completely honest and tell Quebecers that they are separatists. They know full well that Quebecers will vote to stay in Canada. I know that, and the Leader of the Opposition knows it too because, as recently as last March, he was saying: "We must change the question because if we tell the truth, we cannot win; we need a winning question". Quebecers can now see through the opposition leader's game.

[Quebec Referendum, September 26th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I think the Minister of Finance was clear in the very good speech he made today explaining the consequences of a no vote for the economy of Quebec.

[Unemployment Insurance, September 26th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we will table what should be tabled in Parliament when the reform is ready. The Leader of the Opposition is trying to scare everyone. Unemployment insurance reform will apply to all Canadians, not just to Quebecers.

Now the opposition is trying to scare people. This morning they said senior citizens were in trouble. They are trying to scare Quebecers on the language issue. The opposition's scaremongering continues. We are getting one scare a day. We have 34 days left, so we can expect 34 more during that time.

I simply want to say that we will keep doing what we have decided to do, which is to act responsibly as the government of this country, provide for good government, put the country on a sound financial footing and create jobs to restore the dignity of workers in our society. It is by providing good government for the people of Quebec that we will make them very happy to vote for Canada on October 30, by voting No to separation.

[Unemployment Insurance, September 26th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, as I said to the Leader of the Opposition yesterday, we have had a chance to discuss this for months. A green paper on the subject was tabled a year ago. We have consulted with the committees of the House of Commons, the public, the Canadian Labour Congress and many other institutions. Representations are being made, and ultimately we will have a bill that will be tabled in Parliament. As in the case of every other bill, there will probably be amendments, and these will be either supported or rejected by hon. members. And we will know the result at that time.

What we are trying to do? We are trying to make sure that the reforms we need in Canada will give workers access to jobs. Everyone wants us to make changes in the unemployment insurance system. We clearly identified these in the budget, we have been discussing them for a year and a half here in the House, and in time reforms will be introduced. The minister is still working on his bill, and in November or December the Leader of the Opposition, provided he is still in the House, will have an opportunity to raise any questions he wants and make any appropriate suggestions, and the government will consider these before the final vote on the bill.

[Unemployment Insurance, September 26th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the statement made by the Leader of the Opposition is not true. We do not intend to do as he claims.

[Tobacco, September 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Health replied to that question last week. We are looking at all the options. We thought it was a good idea to ban the advertising of these products in the media. The supreme court ruled it was not constitutional.

We are now looking to see what can be done and if we can change it. There was some indication in the judgment where the judge perhaps gave us some options. The Minister of Justice is looking at the judgment at this time along with the Minister of Health. When we have an answer we will be happy to report to the House of Commons.

[The Senate, September 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, we had an agreement with all the premiers about an elected Senate and the hon. member and the Reform Party voted against the agreement in the Charlottetown accord.

[The Senate, September 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I voted in a referendum that included reform of the Senate which required senators to be elected. The hon. member and his party voted against it.

[Unemployment Insurance, September 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, these reforms will affect all workers in Canada. The impact will be exactly the same in all provinces, including Quebec, so this can hardly be used to argue that we are going to treat Quebec workers differently from workers in other provinces. The reform will be exactly the same, and, as I explained earlier, we have been working on this program for a long, long time.

We never knew the exact date of the referendum. In fact, we expected a referendum in June. Now, according to the latest news, it will not necessarily be October 30. I do not know. The writs have not been issued. So the Minister of Human Resources Development is not operating in terms of the potential date of a referendum that is not yet official.

We know there is considerable debate among the Yes side on whether or not they should go ahead. In any case, we are ready, and Canada will win.

[Unemployment Insurance, September 25th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, more than a year ago, the Minister of Human Resources Development tabled a green paper in this House. He then conducted consultations with the opposition and members of his own party, followed by consultations with the public and with the provinces. In the February budget, the Minister of Finance clearly set out the fiscal parameters for a federal program review.

All this is public knowledge. We intend to go ahead with the reform, because everyone in Canada agrees that the application of the Unemployment Insurance Act must be changed to adjust it to current economic realities. The Minister of Human Resources Development is now looking for a better way to use this money and make it easier for Canadians and all the provinces, including Quebec, to find jobs and to specialize in order to be better able to find work after a period of unemployment.

We are not like one of the coalition members, Mario Dumont, who said in the May 1 issue of Actualité that he would even go so far as to say that unemployment insurance should be privatized. I do not know whether the Leader of the Opposition or Mr. Larose agree with what Mr. Dumont said.