Grain Transportation  Mr. Speaker, in dealing with the situation pertaining to the railways to which the question refers, the hon. gentleman will know that while there are provisions in the Western Grain Transportation Act that deal with the performance standards of the railways, under the previous government the appropriate regulatory regime required under those legislative provisions was never implemented or enacted.

Grain Transportation  Mr. Speaker, since May 16 I have been meeting on a very regular basis with not only representatives of the railroads but also their unions, the grain companies and all the governmental institutions involved in the transportation of western grain in order to ensure the backlog problems that occurred in the last crop year are minimized and hopefully avoided altogether in the current crop year and for the future.

Canadian Wheat Board Act  moved that Bill C-50, an act to amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Madam Speaker, last October the government was elected based on a comprehensive plan for Canada known as the red book, which was our platform. In that red book we made a number of commitments to the people of Canada.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, it would not be appropriate for any member of the House of Commons to comment on an RCMP investigation. The question should be directed to the Solicitor General or to the Minister of National Revenue. On the policy issue that is involved there are obviously laws in place in Canada today dealing with the appropriate procedure by which grain may be exported.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, in response to a question in the House last week pertaining to marketing systems for Canadian wheat, I indicated that I would be providing a forum later on this fall at which the differing views on the subject can be expressed. It is true to say that there are farmers in western Canada who hold profoundly different opinions on the question of the appropriate marketing system to have in place for their grain.

Montreal Economy  Mr. Speaker, the infrastructure program commenced by the government in literally the first few hours after we took office last November has been a remarkable success story with the mayors, municipalities and provincial governments virtually everywhere across the country. The minister responsible for infrastructure could add more detail.

Social Program Reform  Mr. Speaker, the government's entire objective is to create economic growth and with that new jobs for Canadians. It bears noting that since last November we have been successful in assisting in the creation of 275,000 Canadian jobs, including 79,000 in the province of Quebec.

Social Program Reform  Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of points to make in response to the hon. member's question on behalf of my colleague, the Minister of Human Resources Development. It needs to be pointed out, as the minister did yesterday in some remarks, that the report of the Canadian Council on Social Development covered a period of time that ended in 1991.

Social Program Reform  Mr. Speaker, as the Minister of Human Resources Development pointed out on many occasions in the House, the objective of the reform process upon which he has embarked is to transform the Canadian system into one that prepares Canadians for the changing requirements of the job market.

Department Of Agriculture Act  moved that Bill C-49, an act to amend the Department of Agriculture Act and to amend or repeal certain other acts, be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to begin the debate on Bill C-49, an act to amend the Department of Agriculture Act and to make related amendments to other acts.

Canada Grain Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-51, an act to amend the Canada Grain Act and respecting certain regulations made pursuant to that act. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)

Grain Transportation  Mr. Speaker, the group of industry executives I have been meeting with during the course of the summer have focused on a broad range of issues to try to deal with the challenge of throughput through all our export facilities. We have dealt with, at least in part, the issue of grain car allocation but obviously that is nobody's first choice in the system.

Canadian Wheat Board Act  Mr. Speaker, unlike some hon. members across the way who spent the summer in name calling and personal vilification, I spent the summer consulting with farmers, farm organizations and a number of others about the issue the hon. member has mentioned. I have received from those farmers and farm organizations a broad list of recommendations and ideas about how our grain marketing, handling and transportation system can be modernized to maximize its throughput capacity and to put farmers in the position of maximizing their marketing opportunities.

Grain Transportation  Mr. Speaker, as I indicated earlier in response to similar questions, the future form or structure of the GTA is certainly a topic the government has under review as we deal with a variety of very important agricultural transportation issues in the country. I would point out though that during the course of the summer I have had a repeated series of meetings with not only the existing GTA but all major players in the Canadian western grain handling and transportation system to ensure that they are focused upon the huge challenge of moving a very large and very diversified crop this year through export positions into the most lucrative available export markets.

Department Of Natural Resources Act  moved for leave to introduce Bill C-48, an act to establish the Department of Natural Resources and to amend related acts. (Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed.)