Supply  I point this out not to say these Quebec members are not making reasonable grievances here, but I am not clear that this can be analysed in an isolated case by case context. We all know the airline and aerospace industry has been concentrated in Quebec with not insignificant federal government help in that outcome over the years.

Supply  However, if the majority of Quebecers express themselves in a democratic referendum and make it absolutely clear they do not want to be Canadian, it will change the attitudes in the rest of the country. If we have intelligent leadership that cares about the interests of the rest of the country, we will then negotiate sovereignty in a way that is quick, peaceful and in the best interests hopefully on both sides but particularly in the best interests of Canada.

Benefits  Speaker, if the Prime Minister is committed to the idea that it is not discrimination to refuse to provide same sex benefits, will he amend the human rights act to make that absolutely clear?

Members Of Parliament Retiring Allowances Act  Before I speak to some of the specifics of this bill in the few minutes I have, I would like to make it clear that I personally would support a fair pension plan. My wife and I just purchased our first home and we are planning for our future, but I could not go home and look my wife or my constituents in the eye if I opted into a plan like the one offered in Bill C-85.

Supply  There is no right to separate unilaterally, and that is the contract of this country. My party has been very clear in the debate this week about the fact that the rules of the game must be respected, that the rules of this Confederation must be respected, as with the whole issue of the communiqué to the Canadian Armed Forces.

Supply  I also thought that senior members of the Liberal Party had really discouraged that response because the government would want this votable. It has now been clarified and it should be very clear for the record that what has happened is that the hon. member for St. John's West has joined with the Bloc Quebecois in not making it possible for there to be a vote on this issue. That is unfortunate.

Supply  When it was signed Hydro Quebec would not permit Newfoundland to construct the hydro facilities necessary to send its power to customers in the New England states unless Newfoundland sold the power to Quebec which in turn sold it to New England. The situation presents a clear trade barrier. At the time the agreement was signed the federal government knew that it was in a position to require Hydro Quebec to allow Newfoundland to wheel power for export to New England.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act, 1994  It has through that suspended the process and it has restarted again. Never has it stopped the process without a clear public policy objective other than to study it. Why did that happen this time? I think the reason is very clear. I saw the map in the Ottawa airport recently. The partisan map of Canada after the last election is very interesting.

Supply  It will contain ambiguities and outright falsehoods. The PQ government running this process has a very clear interpretation of the results. A yes counts; it is binding. As the leader of the Reform Party said, it is binding on those large unresolved items in the question. A no does not count.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act, 1994  Both these amendments are not really our preference. Our preference is that the bill not proceed. Let me make that absolutely clear. We have suggested these particular amendments to put the government to the test on a couple of its stated reasons for proceeding and some of its concerns. The 12 month period is very clear.

National Unity  It is a rule of life. Regardless of what the Canadian people or even the Quebec people think, it is clear what the plans of the Quebec government are. I ask the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs once again, is the government consulting anyone-Canadians, think tanks, the C.D. Howe Institute, the Canada West Foundation, the business community?

National Unity  Will it table not only the proposals it has tabled for positive change, but will it also make clear to Quebec in published documents the likely terms and conditions of separation and the real costs of separation?

Recognition Of Quebec As A Distinct Society  Since we are instructing not only the House but the legislative and executive branches of the government to be guided in their conduct, it is clear they have an unlimited range of options in terms of how to implement this guidance. Subsection (i) of the amendment simply refers to a specific route they may take that shall not be considered.

Federal-Provincial Fiscal Arrangements And Federal Post-Secondary Education And Health Contributions Act  Let us be clear that this is what this bill does. I am also looking for some realistic discussion of this in the next couple of years. Let us be clear that the option the Bloc Quebecois is proposing to deal with this, the sovereignty of Quebec, would result in the province of Quebec receiving zero.

Supply  Madam Speaker, I cannot read the Prime Minister's mind but it is evidently clear that within the government caucus there is more support for preservation of the MP pension plan than for respective certain private and voluntary contracts. In the case of the cancellation of the helicopters the government has fulfilled its contractual obligations.