The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member extolled the virtues of the great government babysitting bureaucracy that her government is proposing at the expense of the choices of women and families. I am wondering why the government feels it has the right to take the choice away from women and families on how to raise their own children.

Canadian Livestock Industry  Mr. Speaker, there are two points I want to make very quickly and hopefully hear some response from the hon. member. The first is the issue of the extended closing of the border. We expected this week would bring good news of an opened border. However, one week ago the government decided to make a political announcement in opposition to the missile defence system of the United States.

Sponsorship Program  Mr. Speaker, Jean Lafleur received contracts worth $30 million. Today we learn that he contributed $47,000 to the Liberal Party fund. Add to that the numerous gifts he gave his Liberal friends courtesy of the taxpayer. When is the Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Party going to return the tens of thousands of dollars improperly received by his party from Jean Lafleur?

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, I noticed that my distinguished colleague spent very little time talking about the agricultural commitments in this past budget and in particular, support for our cattle farmers, both dairy and beef, many of whom live in my constituency. It would be impossible to discuss that subject without acknowledging the very obvious linkage between security and trade.

Thomas Torokvei  Mr. Speaker, Thomas Torokvei was a proud Canadian. Last February 24, the chairman of IPEX Inc., a leading Canadian philanthropist, businessman, husband and father, passed away, but his legacy lives on. Today I rise to carve permanently into the records of the House a tribute to this great man and the life that he lived.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his answer. He deserves our congratulations because he really does work very hard for his constituents. And that is why I congratulate him now. The hon. member misses the point. It is true that his government raised ever so slightly the basic personal exemption, which means that the average taxpayer will save a whopping $16 this year.

Immigration and Refugee Protection Act  Mr. Speaker, I was originally going to pose a query here in adjournment proceedings resulting from the Treasury Board President's insult against Canada's youth when he said that I was too young to serve in the House of Commons even though 30,488 constituents in my riding decided to replace the existing defence minister with me.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, one thing that this budget failed dramatically to address was the nation's failure to provide treatment to those children who are suffering with autism. We have a Prime Minister who rails that he will solve the health care problem for a generation. Meanwhile, this budget did absolutely nothing to address the very serious concern that there are children in this country with autism for whom basic ABA treatment is not provided, leaving families to cover this essential medical requirement to the tune of as much as $50,000 or $60,000 per year.

Petitions  Mr. Speaker, it is my honour to rise and present two petitions before the House. The first petition deals with juvenile type 1 diabetes research which was presented to me by a number of students in my constituency who have identified this critical ailment as being a problem that friends and neighbours of theirs have experienced at a very young age.

Petitions  Second, Mr. Speaker, it is an honour, as a friend of democracies of the world to introduce a petition, which calls upon the government to note the following. The appointment of Yvon Charbonneau as Canada's Ambassador to UNESCO has caused great concerns to Canadians from coast to coast to coast.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, the hon. member made an impassioned plea for accountability and I cannot help but agree with him. He was extremely eloquent in making that case. I want to speak to the broader issue of accountability here today. The revenue minister stated in the House recently that he wants to spend millions of dollars by moving major government departments out of the capital region to shore up Liberal support in other regions.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, the report goes on to quote the revenue minister saying: I think the lesson that we learned...is regional balance is crucial and the vividness of their (Atlantic MPs') view on that has to do with the experience and also the election of 1997. In other words, he wants to make decisions on reallocating government departments based on the 1997 election results.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, what we are really talking about today is accountability. I want to address a somewhat related issue to accountability and have the hon. member comment on it. There is an ongoing discussion about moving government departments out of the city of Ottawa, out of the national capital region, to shore up Liberal support in other regions.

Questions on the Order Paper  Madam Speaker, I want to point out that the members from the Bloc Québécois are always interested in provincial jurisdictions, but they do not appear to see any importance in family jurisdictions. I think that is very interesting. They contradict themselves by taking this position.

Questions on the Order Paper  Madam Speaker, it is clear from the studies which came out just this past week that the Canadian people do not want the system that the Liberals are proposing. What else is clear is the difference that is forming in today's debate. On this side of the House we believe that parents, not politicians, should decide what is best for their children.