Cigarette Taxes  This is sending a clear message to smugglers to avoid those border crossings. I challenge the 12 Liberal MPs from Manitoba to publicly acknowledge in the House of Commons that they have offered no resistance to this government initiative that puts the health of Manitobans at risk. Manitobans have made it abundantly clear to me they are prepared to take action to prevent this country from going up in smoke.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would have a question for the hon. member. I greatly appreciated his remarks and his idea of setting up another House committee.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would certainly like to make a comment. I hope the member opposite recognizes that the motion deals directly with the importance of information, efficiency and effectiveness. The information I provided this House today in my speech deals exactly with those issues.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the member for Châteauguay for his first speech in the House. When he was first describing his riding, I thought he was talking about mine. We do have many standing committees in the House. Maybe the standing committees did not work like they should have in the past.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I am amused by that because it was exactly the opposite of what my remarks were all about. My remarks were about the changes that are being made. I am certainly not going to stand here and defend what the previous government has done which is now being talked about in the Auditor General's report.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member for the question. It does relate to something of considerable importance to me and the government. That is to understand what the outcomes are of our programs and what we have gained for the taxpayers' dollar that has been spent and what the results are.

Supply  But for those to whom that really matters, who make good wages and who put money back into the economy and into the area where they live, the vision of members on this side is more forward looking than that of the government, regarding the proposed course of action.

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

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  It is absolutely wrong, because some positive attempts were made by the federal government to get regional economies going again, for example with the Federal Office of Regional Development. Quebec has been talking about the one-stop concept for years, but I would like to hear the Bloc Quebecois tell us exactly why federalism was so bad for rural economic development.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  Madam Speaker, I listened carefully to what was said by the hon. member, and I have a pretty straightforward question. I also listened to what was said by the hon. member's colleagues, who had nothing constructive to say about the equalization program. They said it made Quebec poorer, that it was no help at all, and that it was clumsy and cumbersome and harmful.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  Madam Speaker, I enjoyed my colleague's presentation in the sense that he had obviously thought very carefully about what he was going to say. Clearly what he has said reflects the fact that he studied it for some time. Although we may have some differ- ences on how this major problem he has underlined might be approached, I respect what was said.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments of my hon. friend from Calgary West. I am glad he supports the principle of equalization. I did overlook the matter of drafting in the NHL. However when it comes to straight financial arrangements there is no equalization. With respect to Manitoba's share under the equalization program, my good friend from Calgary is suggesting that perhaps Manitoba is not treated as well as Saskatchewan.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  Madam Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for her speech. I have several questions for her. First, I would like her to explain to the House and to those listening to this debate the difference between sovereignty and separation, because I do not really see any difference between these two concepts.

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

Interparliamentary Delegations  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 34, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the report of the Canadian delegation of the Canada-Japan Interparliamentary Association to the second annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific parliamentary forum held in the Philippines on January 14 and January 15.