Jean Chrétien

[The Budget, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I am wondering what kind of question the hon. member will have next week.

We will have the budget next Tuesday and he will have all these answers.

[The Budget, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, that is what was written in the red book, so that will be the target.

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member should realize that for the last three months the country has had a new government. He is talking about when his colleague was a member of the previous administration.

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, I have nothing further to add. We delivered a very clear statement in the House last Tuesday. The police are doing their job and cigarette smuggling networks in Canada are in the process of disappearing.

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, February 16th, 1994]

The answer, Mr. Speaker, is no.

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, this nation has been facing this problem of contraband for the past four years. The member for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell was asking questions here in the House when the Leader of the Opposition was with the government and nothing was being done. When I asked for a report on that, it said that there was some hesitation. I said there should be no hesitation. I said to the RCMP: "You do your job everywhere in Canada", and that is exactly what they are doing today.

[Royal Canadian Mounted Police, February 16th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, about the police presence on the reserves: there are three police forces. There is the Mohawk police force which is locally recognized and controlled by the aboriginal authorities. There is the provincial police, which has jurisdiction because it was given the former powers of the RCMP and which must do its job there as it does elsewhere. The third one is the federal police which is concerned with smuggling. The federal police is doing its job at this very moment.

According to our information, cigarette smuggling in Quebec has decreased considerably. If we can break up the cigarette smuggling networks, we can break up the others as well. I am convinced the police are doing a good job. We have always told the police they can go anywhere across Canada to do their job.

[The Late Irénée Pelletier, February 15th, 1994]

Madam Speaker, I would also like to speak on this subject. I too would like to extend my sympathies to the family of Irénée Pelletier, a distinguished member of Parliament who served with me in this House for 12 years.

In my view, here was a man who truly embodied what Canada stands for. Hailing from the Madawaska Valley in New Brunswick, he earned a degree from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in political science in France before returning to teach in Sherbrooke.

First elected to the House of Commons in 1972 he was, in the words of his successor, an excellent member of Parliament. He was extremely dedicated and friends with everyone. He was very industrious and keenly interested in international affairs. Typically, however, he was deeply concerned about poverty and focused a lot of his attention on regional development. Given his

rural roots, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture.

Individuals like Irénée Pelletier who serve in Parliament are fine examples for others to emulate. On behalf of Aline and my party, I want to offer my condolences to the Pelletier family. May he always be remembered as a gentleman who served his riding, his province and his country with distinction.

[Government Expenditures, February 15th, 1994]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. leader of the Reform Party will know that there will be budget bills in front of the House and that he will be able to present amendments. If he wants to reduce old age pensions of course we will vote against it.

[Government Expenditures, February 15th, 1994]

I will ask the ministers to make sure they run a lean, effective government and to make sure taxpayers are getting service for the tax dollars they pay.