Questions On The Order Paper  Mr. Speaker, I ask that all questions be allowed to stand.

Criminal Code  Mr. Speaker, again on the question of section 745, as members know I have introduced in this House a significant number of petitions from Canadians requesting that the government delete section 745. I would like to introduce another with several hundred signatures today. The petition reads as follows: We the undersigned residents of Canada draw the attention of the House to the following: If those individuals convicted of first degree murder are sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for 25 years, that those convicted of second degree murder can be sentenced to life in prison without eligibility for parole for 15 years or more; that section 745 of the Criminal Code of Canada allows murderers to apply for a reduction in the number of years of imprisonment notwithstanding having been tried, convicted and sentenced in a court of law; that those individuals convicted of first degree murder or second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison can become eligible for parole after serving only 15 years by virtue of section 745 of the Criminal Code; that convicted murderers can be released after serving only 15 years in prison; therefore your petitioners request that Parliament pass legislation that would remove section 745 from the Canadian Criminal Code.

Saint Lawrence Seaway  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for Anjou-Rivière-des-Prairies for raising this motion. Let me begin by informing the House, as the previous member has, that the St. Lawrence seaway is truly a national treasure. He pointed out that it is one of the transportation corridors and an important link in the economic well-being of all of Canada.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member had five questions for the Prime Minister and now I have three for her. First, the hon. member refers to the fact that three Canadian companies were willing to bid for Ginn. Does she have any idea whether each of them is willing to pay $10.3 million or not?

Supply  The previous government.

Business Of The House  Mr. Speaker, while I am on my feet, I would like to move: That the deferred division on the motion on the budget scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, 1994, be further deferred untill Wednesday, March 23, 1994, at the end of the time provided for the consideration of Government Orders.

Employment  Mr. Speaker, as the member knows, a significant number of people from the defence department are being asked to leave, to retire, and they are being given departure incentives to do so. This is normal when dealing with some 16,500 people in jobs that we need to remove in order to meet the budget commitments with respect to reducing the deficit.

Ministerial Regional Offices  Mr. Speaker, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on what the previous administration has done. However I am glad the hon. member has raised the issue. Perhaps his colleague and friend in the back row might be able to provide him with the necessary information. Surely the hon. member is not suggesting to Canadians that ministers of the crown who have to travel across the country extensively to carry out their responsibilities are not to meet with Canadians, are not to meet with various groups, regardless of what their socioeconomic standings are.

Indian Affairs  Mr. Speaker, I do not really care if the hon. member speaks quickly or slowly; I understand the question. The question that he asked is before the courts in the sense that the charter of rights will be addressed along with the Indian Act. If there is an adverse reaction it is the responsibility of the House and the government to come back with legislation that reflects these things.

Ministerial Regional Offices  Mr. Speaker, I do not want to comment on the remarks of the hon. member when he refers to powder rooms. The ministerial regional office in Halifax has a washroom; it does not have a powder room. Perhaps I could use one. However I want to say to the hon. member that the purpose of ministerial regional offices is to cut costs so that ministers of the crown can carry out their responsibilities across the country.

Social Programs  Mr. Speaker, I am fully aware of the responsibility to help create employment. The budget presented by the Minister of Finance took a number of initiatives: Stimulating growth in the areas of high technology and small business by developing a whole new strategy for giving access to capital.

The Economy  Mr. Speaker, Canada is a very good and very stable country. We have had a good budget presented and we have a plan that is very clear. The market can speculate all it wants. However we are not changing the policies of the government on speculation in the market from one day to the other because investors from abroad know very well that there is not a better place in the world to invest than Canada.

Health Care  Mr. Speaker, the government is desperately trying to broaden the tax base and regularly puts out feelers on how this could be done. Its latest effort came yesterday when some Liberal members supported applying the GST to health care and medication, which I think is pretty outrageous.

Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean  Mr. Speaker, if that were the case, no military base should ever be closed. Sure, it creates problems. But to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that we should not try to maintain a certain level of employment at the military college with the provincial government's co-operation, when he went over there to take part in a demonstration with people who, only 22 years ago, were opposed to a Quebec university awarding a diploma to Saint-Jean graduates because it was a federal presence of the Canadian armed forces in Quebec, and to see that Quebec nationalists and the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society would do such an about-face, that is too much for me!

Canadian Foreign Policy  Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate the member on his comments, many of which this government subscribes to in the sense that from time to time we have to revisit any policies in order to ensure they truly reflect the modern age and the needs and aspirations of all those who are affected.