Post-Secondary Education  Indeed, by triggering a twofold increase in tuition fees, his reform will result in heavier debt loads, to the point where many will no longer dare to pursue the goal of a post-secondary education, for fear of incurring an uncontrollable personal debt.

Communications Security Establishment  So, I do support the motion before us, but at the condition that new members be appointed to the SIRC, especially since the current members systematically refused, when testifying before the national security committee on September 13, to answer questions put to them by the committee on behalf of the House of Commons which is supreme in that respect. How could we trust any longer individuals who refuse to co-operate with the elected representatives of the people and hide behind an overly finicky interpretation of Section 54 of the National Security Act to say that they account to the minister and nobody else?

Supply  Their collective bargaining power, based on the railways' historical importance, has enabled them to negotiate very generous wage rates and enviable job security provisions. However, these agreements are no longer realistic in today's rail operating environment. The railways demand greater flexibility in deploying their labour resources than the current collective agreements provide. Employees and unions, however, want to protect the jobs and benefits which they already have.

Supply  It will face tremendous challenges in the years to come; competition is fierce and our society is on the wane. The federal government can no longer afford to subsidize unprofitable lines. It must find other ways to keep these lines in operation, because what is at stake here is the development of our regions. Quebec does not want to see these essential railroads disappear and it does not want to foot the bill either.

Arms Embargo In Former Yugoslavia  Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The United States' decision to no longer participate in the control of the arms embargo in the former Yugoslavia provoked strong reactions among the allies, creating division within NATO and member countries of the former Yugoslavia contact group.

Collège Militaire Royal De Saint-Jean  Consequently, in the circumstances it makes sense to concentrate students in Kingston. Since the army has been downsized, we no longer need three colleges, and we should now use all the resources available at the college in Kingston, which is the only one we need.

Mil Davie Shipyard  Its failure to act on the issue of the Magdalen Islands ferry clearly shows its lack of sensitivity with regards to unemployment in Quebec. The Minister of Transport even delights in creating confusion about the case. We no longer know who is really in charge, him or the Minister of Industry. In 1986, the federal government told the Quebec shipyard industry to get its things in order, which was done. There is only one large shipyard left in Quebec.

Supply  The result is that roughly 13,000 hopper cars filled with Canadian wheat, barley and oats destined for the U.S. each year take a scenic route that is 1,400 kilometres longer than any direct route. What does the agriculture minister say to a problem like this? It almost surprised me when I saw it in the paper. It really is a bit of a fluke in the system that goes back many years.

Supply  If high speed rail in this part of the world, as opposed to the west where I am from, is a very good proposal, then I would suggest that if the private sector wants to carry it out, that is fine. It has to be recognized that government can no longer do these things. It has to be recognized that the federal government is now borrowing money from foreign lenders in order to maintain the operations of government. The country cannot afford these large projects.

Supply  There are several reasons for this change of attitude, including the fact that the railway companies, the CN and the CP, have chosen to keep their operations secret. Because of the way the CP handled things in my area, potential users no longer want to do business with this railway company, and our people lost interest. So, we need to hold a real debate. This is why I hope the speeches made today in this House will not close the debate on the railway system, but rather launch a truly public debate on the issue, a debate in which the government and the opposition should take part and make their position known, to reassure the population that the railway system will be maintained and expanded throughout Canada.

Supply  Not only are they harming the rail lines as they exist right now but they are also among the large impediments in the way of attracting private short line operators to take over these abandoned lines when the big rail companies can no longer make money running them. There is also no action to deal with harmonizing capital depreciation rules so that they can compete effectively with their American competitors. The next thing I would like to look at is the lack of transparency on the part of the government with regard to the rail industry.

Supply  I think that the Leader of the Opposition should be good enough to appear before us here to explain his actions to members of this House, Canadians and Quebecers. He should say, "I cut VIA Rail's services because I no longer believed in it." I ask his opposition critic to tell me why Mr. Bouchard-excuse me, the Leader of the Opposition; I apologize, Mr. Speaker-who claims to be the great defender of Quebecers cut so many services, up to 50 per cent, throughout Canada in 1989.

Standing Committee On Industry  Presently, with a budget of $ 1.5 million last year instead of eight million which could drop to zero, FORD-Q is targetting small and medium-sized businesses with, as I mentioned before, a strong export potential, which is not bad per se, but other small and medium-sized businesses in the tourism industry, for instance, should not be neglected. More importantly, new services provided by FORD-Q will no longer be in terms of investment but in terms of technical support, that is to say feasibility studies review and so on. With such a small budget, it is going to be difficult for small and medium sized businesses in the Abitibi area to find funding in order to diversify their production since they depend mainly on mining and forestry as a source of funds for regional development.

Standing Committee On Industry  I know that the banks in Canada have not over the last 50 years or so been particularly venturesome. There is a need for longer term patient capital. is possible that the Federal Business Development Bank may be able to fill a legitimate role in this. Frankly, I just do not know. I would caution that if a bank using taxpayers' money is going to get into the business of lending money on a long term basis to high risk businesses, we had better make sure that it does so in an extremely prudent manner.

Petitions  Speaker, the remaining petitions relate to killer cards, calling on the government to ban killer cards and make sure they do not come into the country any longer. This petition contains several hundred names.