Review Of Canada's Foreign Policy  Mr. Speaker, in their report, the Liberal members and senators, as I said before, see trade relations with the United States as a problem. Would it be possible to find out from someone in this government whether they endorse this view and whether they agree that abolishing trade commissioner posts is hardly the way to help small businesses break into the U.S. market?

Committees Of The House  Mr. Speaker, I have the honour today to associate myself with the tabling of the report of the Special Joint Committee on Reviewing Canada's Foreign Policy, especially the tabling of the dissenting report by the Bloc Quebecois members on the committee. Throughout the proceedings, committee members honestly tried to offer an innovative vision of what Canada's new foreign policy could be.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Team Canada's trip to China gradually became a political show where investments totalling billions of dollars are announced when, in fact, these figures are arrived at by adding contracts signed a long time ago with mere letters of intent regarding eventual contracts, as in the case of the CANDU reactors.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, if the minister stands by what he just said, how can he explain the fact that the $800-million contract for Dominion Bridge, which was hailed as one of the major achievements of that mission, was not signed during Team Canada's trip to China but last June?

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. The Canadian government bought a year of peace for wheat exports to the United States by signing a very bad agreement. Among unresolved agricultural issues, the U.S. is still using NAFTA to challenge the tariffs filed by Canada under the GATT agreement on supply-managed agricultural products, namely milk products, poultry and eggs.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  Mr. Speaker, these past few weeks, the government has been repeating that it is acting in good faith, claiming it wants to negotiate with the provinces and maintain a partnership relationship with them instead of a paternalistic and dominating one. It never fails however to attack insidiously the government of Quebec for its alleged bad faith.

World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to make a brief comment. I am a bit overwhelmed by the very eloquent speech that we just heard from the hon. member for Frontenac. My colleague focused on what was, I think, the main problem for Canada in the Uruguay Round, namely the double talk used by the federal government in trying to protect the interests of producers in Canada and Quebec, those of grain producers from the western provinces on one hand and those of poultry and dairy farmers and other producers on the other hand.

World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to heartily congratulate my colleague from Rimouski-Témiscouata on the excellent speech she just gave us. I find it quite revealing that she could make a twenty-minute speech dealing specifically with the cultural issue of the Uruguay Round accords and their applications to Canada.

World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I will try to be as brief as I can. I was a little upset by what I just heard from my Reform Party colleague, when he said that if, as they say, Quebec should separate from the rest of Canada, the rules for selling Quebec milk on the Canadian market would no longer be the same.

World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act  Eight hundred million dollars worth of beef annually, I am told. That is quite a lot. I imagine Canada will not be so stupid as to jeopardize its markets in Quebec by trying to strong-arm a future sovereign Quebec. The president of the Mouvement Desjardins said that if Canada wanted to play hard ball with Quebec after sovereignty, the financial consequences would probably be the same for both parties.

Manpower Training  Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, yet another voice joined in the chorus in support of the transfer of manpower training powers from Ottawa to the provinces. Indeed, Mr. Thomas D'Aquino, chairman of the Business Council on National Issues, stated yesterday that such decentralization would be ideal; it would be good for the Canadian economy as well as for the work force as a whole.

World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act  Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity today to speak on second reading of Bill C-57, an Act to implement the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization. On April 15 in Marrakesh, Morocco, the 125 signatories to the General Agreement on Tariff and Trade, commonly referred to as GATT, finally signed the agreement that finalized the lengthy negotiations of the Uruguay Round, which had taken nearly eight years.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I am pleased to table today in this House a petition signed by 393 people in the riding of Verchères and elsewhere in Quebec, specifically the municipalities of Sainte-Julie, Saint-Denis, Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu, Saint-Amable, Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil, Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu and Verchères.

United Nations  Mr. Speaker, the United Nations is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary. The Bloc Quebecois takes this opportunity to highlight the work of this organization, which is a source of great hope for many peoples and nations. Whether it is by helping developing countries, promoting human rights, or preserving peace in the world, the UN strengthens international unity, which is currently a major priority.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have the pleasure of submitting a petition signed by 122 residents from the riding of Verchères and the surrounding area, particularly the municipalities of Saint-Amable and Saint-Antoine-sur-Richelieu. The petitioners feel that, by abolishing the universality of the tax credit for seniors, the government unfairly targeted pensioners' income.