Jean Chrétien

[Unemployment Insurance Reform, June 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, my position has been known to all Canadians for a long time. I am a federalist, and I believe in a united Canada where Quebec will feel at home.

I am not the one who has to do some virage to try to find words to hide the truth from the people who will be voting. I know the people of Quebec want to stay in Canada. All the polls say that. Mr. Parizeau came with his astuce in December. That was a flop by the month of March. Then came the Leader of the Opposition who tried to hide the truth. He made a virage. Today the virage is back to square one. He is a separatist and he does not have the guts to say that to the nation.

[Unemployment Insurance Reform, June 13th, 1995]

Yes, Mr. Speaker. Let the Leader of the Opposition rise in the House and tell Quebecers and Canadians what he told the Americans: "Please realize I am not a sovereignist, I am a separatist". Let him repeat that to all Quebecers, and he will lose his referendum.

[Unemployment Insurance Reform, June 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I am willing to meet Mr. Parizeau at any time to discuss the concerns of Quebecers: job creation, economic growth, and improving the situation with regard to public finances. That is what people want to discuss. I only hope that the Leader of the Opposition will tell Quebecers that their proposal is about separation. That is what they want.

They would have Quebecers believe that once they have separated, they will still be part of Canada. This is a mirage, a lot of smoke and mirrors and shows a lack of intellectual honesty.

[Unemployment Insurance Reform, June 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition rose in the House today to explain to Quebecers: You will vote for sovereignty, but you will keep Canadian citizenship, the Canadian currency, the Canadian passport, the economic and political union with Canada. The only thing missing in his bag of tricks is what I said in Trois-Rivières: "We in the Parti Quebecois and the Bloc Quebecois will keep the name "Canada". You can find another one for the rest of Canada, because Canada is so great that we want to keep the name Canada for ourselves".

[Unemployment Insurance Reform, June 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, first of all, we would really like to know what the question is. They came up in December with a scheme that the people very quickly got wise to. This whole scheme was nothing but smoke and mirrors. They then tried to change directions, so that the December program was already over by March. Quebecers will probably get wise to the new June scheme by October. Everyone will understand that the opposition leader's question is purely hypothetical, because I know that if Quebecers are asked, "Do you want to separate from Canada?", they will always vote to stay in Canada. I am convinced of that.

[Unemployment Insurance Reform, June 13th, 1995]

I hope that the question will be clear, that they will say "we want to separate from Canada" and that they will not try to trick people into thinking that the intent of the referendum, is anything other than separation.

As for us and our UI program, reforming all the social programs requires consultation with the provincial governments. The minister is consulting them now. The papers can only speculate at the moment. This is not the first time articles have appeared in the papers, with the results of the federal government programs differing entirely from what the Globe and Mail saying. This is usually exactly what happens.

[Unemployment Insurance Reform, June 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, first I am pleased to hear that there will be a referendum. We are looking forward to having one.

[Unemployment Insurance Reform, June 13th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, I said it yesterday and I will repeat it today: the government has reached no decision yet. The Minister of Human Resources Development is currently conferring on the matter. There will be a reform of all social programs in the fall to enable us to put funds at the disposal of those who want to work and take training courses.

This is our focus-we want to enable workers to find jobs and recover their dignity. The specific program will be announced once consultations have been completed. At the moment, no one can claim that one party or another in Canada is forced to contribute more than the others.

[Bosnia, June 12th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, the government is still looking at the issue. We are waiting for the outcome of the discussions taking place between those countries which have already decided to participate, and for the UN position. As I said last week, I am personally not very enthusiastic about Canadian participation. However, if it is necessary, we will participate. However, there is no urgency, and a decision does not have to be made immediately.

[Human Rights, June 12th, 1995]

Mr. Speaker, when I met President Yeltsin in Moscow a few weeks ago, I raised the concerns of the government and people of Canada about his behaviour in Chechnya. I also intend, as the chairman of the meeting of the group of eight, to raise the matter again. I am sure many of the other leaders will raise the same problem, but I will take the initiative.