House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2000, with 54% of the vote.
Right To Education In French May 31st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I am deeply moved to see Bloc Quebecois members care about francophones outside Quebec, considering that they want to isolate them completely by promoting Quebec's separation.
I am prepared to pledge that a French-language school will soon be built in Kingston.
Right To Education In French May 31st, 1994
Listen. I am saying that the school board is in favour of building a French-language school. They want to find the best possible site. They are considering two or three locations. This is an issue which concerns Kingston city officials and the Department of Education in Toronto. It is not a federal issue.
I want to emphasize that I asked if there was any objection to building a French-language school in Kingston. I was told: Absolutely not! We want such a school as soon as possible and in the best possible location.
I was given the assurance that a site would be found very soon.
Right To Education In French May 31st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, the Kingston Roman Catholic Separate School Board unanimously supported the idea of building a school in an appropriate location, but the proposed site is deemed inadequate by the municipality.
Based on the information I received, that location is used as a dump.
National Forum On Health May 31st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, frankly, it is a word I have been hearing in this House since 1963. Every time members want to speak against the federal government, they say it wants to centralize, when there has been such a major decentralization that Canada has become one of the most decentralized countries, like Switzerland. But we are still willing to look at suggestions. We have a national health act passed by this Parliament, which requires us to offer free, universal and publicly administered health-care services so that we do not have hospitals for the rich and other hospitals for the poor. That is the goal we will continue to pursue with the conference on health that I will chair.
National Forum On Health May 31st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, we had many consultations. The Minister of Health had consultations with the provinces and, at one point, the ministers even established a committee of five ministers to make suggestions to her. She received these suggestions and included them in her proposal for next month.
All of a sudden, the provinces came up with other suggestions. Since we are a very flexible government, we said that we would look at their other suggestions. If, unfortunately, a few extra weeks are needed before we hold the conference, we are ready to delay it because we were elected for five years and we will not complain about another five weeks.
However, I would like to point out that the Minister of Health held consultations. She received a report prepared by five ministers. I think she accepted all of their requests, and they then asked for other things. Of course, we will look at what they want, but I am not ready to blame the Minister of Health. On the contrary, I wish to commend her for listening to the provinces and including their studies in her proposal. All of a sudden, they found her too flexible and asked for more concessions. I am certain that she will study their requests and, if they are reasonable, she will accept them.
Indian Affairs May 31st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, if indeed work is continuing at this time, I think Minister Sirros stated clearly the law was to be enforced and that is also our position.
As for lawyer Michel Robert and Justice Paul, they have been instructed to undertake negotiations as soon as possible. Only, for negotiations to be held, all the parties must be at the table. And I hope that everyone will agree that it is in the interest of all concerned to sit around the table and look for a solution to this problem.
In any case, the Oka territory is not a reserve under federal jurisdiction; it falls under provincial jurisdiction. If the law is broken, it is up to the Attorney General and the provincial police to take the necessary steps.
Province Of Quebec May 31st, 1994
I think, Mr. Speaker, this question is a bit more suitable than the previous one.
The best way for Quebecers to have economic stability and to make sure that the rest of the country does not pay a price for political instability, is for the Quebec people to vote for the Liberal Party in the next provincial election so that we will dispose of the problem. This is the best option.
As for Mr. Parizeau, I hope he will never form a government. However, if he were to form a government, he should take the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and not try to cheat but be very honest and tell Quebecers, as the Leader of the Opposition said to the people in Washington, that they are separatists. If they say so, the Quebec people will remain in Canada.
Province Of Quebec May 31st, 1994
-is to ask the leader of the Reform Party to help this Parliament to be a good Parliament, to offer a good government.
The people of Quebec know very well, as they read last weekend as we all did with joy, that of all the countries in the world the United Nations said that the best place to live is Canada. That is the best argument.
Province Of Quebec May 31st, 1994
Mr. Speaker, the most suitable reply-
The Economy May 25th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, all indicators clearly show that the Canadian economy is now headed in the right direction.
Since this government took office, consumer confidence has increased considerably. The number of unemployed people in Canada has gone down. I think that the budget presented in February was very, very well received by the financial community because they know that this Minister of Finance and this government have a very specific plan. We want to create jobs, that is our priority. To do so, we must reduce the deficit to 3 per cent of gross national revenue within three years.
We will keep this promise as we have kept other promises, and the financial community will indeed have confidence in Canada when we clearly establish this country's political stability.