Fisheries Management  Mr. Speaker, I want to assure the member opposite that we will not have an improvised approach. We will have an approach that is very much the result of wide and complete consultation with all provincial governments affected, including the province of Quebec. I had a meeting with fisheries ministers from all the Atlantic region in Quebec City a few weeks ago.

The Constitution  The Prime Minister has repeatedly said that he does not want to reopen constitutional issues at this time and that the priority of his government is jobs and economic growth. Yet yesterday he and other Liberal members were repeatedly drawn into heated exchanges with Bloc members on the constitutional future of Quebec. There are millions of Canadians including Quebecers who want Parliament to focus on deficit reduction, jobs and preserving social services.

The Constitution  Mr. Speaker, the minister is charged to deal with all the provinces and to work to try to eliminate a lot of the duplication that exists between the two levels of government. He will deal with all the provinces because it is a concern right across Canada. That type of problem is not only in relation to the province of Quebec.

Auditor General's Report  Mr. Speaker, the Auditor General can table only one report a year. This report on the strategic and operational management of the federal government is of extreme importance. As do many Canadians, I believe that the time has come-to better understand what deficits and debt mean, to better manage department and agency budgets; to better inform Canadians on federal programs and their efficiency; to better amend our laws to make them more easily understandable-to seriously contemplate amending the Auditor General Act, to enable him to prepare not only one yearly report, but ad hoc reports which would provide this House with the information required to manage the country in the best possible way.

Forests  Mr. Speaker, over time forests have been reduced from 34 per cent to 12 per cent of the world's land mass. In much of the world deforestation continues causing soil loss, land slides, shortages of water, damage to fish and wildlife. Forests provide habitat for biodiversity and absorb carbon dioxide.

Speech From The Throne  We in the opposition intend to monitor very carefully the decisions that will be made by this government. If it does it right, it can be sure that on behalf of all farmers in Shefford, Quebec and Canada, we will support those decisions.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, it is a pleasure to introduce a petition from the workers at Base Moncton who are petitioning the government to maintain the depot facilities that are there.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, pursuant to Standing Order 36, I rise to present a petition on behalf of constituents and people of my province. They ask that government ban the sale of the serial killer board game and prevent any other such game or material from being made available in this country.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, I have a petition from my electors that asks the government to undertake a comprehensive review of taxation at its earliest convenience to remove the current injustices. These petitioners indicate a particular injustice in the current legislation; single income families with special needs children are discriminated against for their decision to remain at home with their children.

Speech From The Throne  Mr. Speaker, I listened carefully to what our colleague from Richelieu said, and I wish to congratulate him on his re-election to the House of Commons. We have known each other for a very long time, he and I, and we sat together on several committees, interparliamentary bodies and so on.

Speech From The Throne  The hon. member may think that sounds incredible, but I would like to say, in concluding, that I realize the Leader of the Opposition has certain responsibilities in this House and that he must act accordingly. I admit that during his speech he spoke at length about economic issues, and I agree that when the Leader of the Opposition talks about the economy, when he talks about unemployment and when he talks about social measures, he is doing what he is supposed to do as the Leader of the Opposition, of what is referred to as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition.

Human Rights  Mr. Speaker, I would like to reply that in the red book we had a very definitive program regarding the need for the improvements to NAFTA before we signed. We managed to get the improvements that we wanted so we were in a position to sign. Of course as the Minister of Foreign Affairs said, we are following very closely what is happening at this moment in Mexico.

Dairy Industry  Mr. Speaker, in the absence of a question from the other side, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture. First, I want to thank the minister for his work on behalf of Canadian farmers to date. He must be aware of the anxiety being felt in the dairy community regarding his negotiations with the Americans on ice cream and yogurt.

Goods And Services Tax  Mr. Speaker, may I congratulate you on your position and congratulate the member on his question. Time is short. I would be unable to tell the House in the time available everything I know on this subject. I will say, however, that the Prime Minister has made it very clear that the goods and services tax is to go.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the member's question is quite obviously very much in the line that this government wants to take and we certainly do support the recommendations of the Auditor General. We are committed to the elimination of budget secrecy, to open budgeting. As the House was not meeting, the announcement of the deficit was made not by a press release but at a meeting at the University of Montreal involving students from that university and McGill.