Public Service Staff Relations Act  For 20 years now, we have been studying the legislation and wondering if we should act now, or wait a little longer to see if the law has any impact on other companies. If a bill had been passed right away and if we had said after a few years: "Since the law does not seem to say what we meant to say, we will correct it and change it right now", we would have saved billions of tax dollars.

Public Service Staff Relations Act  Similarly at the risk of being boring in 1988 the commissioner stated: "Since the bonus no longer has the incentive effect that justified its creation, we can only repeat our recommendation that Treasury Board review the value of the bilingualism bonus". That brings us to 1989 when the commissioner wrote: "The awarding of a bilingualism bonus may originally have been a positive measure but over time it has proven to be more of an obstacle to a fair linguistic designation of positions and a source of inequities within the public service".

Citizenship Act  Through consultation and thoughtful action we will find it. The minister has already decided that the new system will no longer include citizenship court judges. This duty will in future be performed by distinguished Canadians drawn from the ranks of the Order of Canada. The issues discussed in Bill C-249 are important, far too important to be dealt with on such a basis.

Citizenship Act  Current events and policy descriptions made me increasingly aware of the weaknesses of and the necessity for change within the immigration system in Canada. Along with many other Canadians I can no longer passively accept the choices made for us by governments whose agenda for establishing policy in this area is dictated not by the realities of our country but too often by political and special interest agendas.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  The original intention of Confederation has been gradually replaced by a strong central government in which one of the founding nations no longer has anything but the status of a small minority. I also reminded this House that the existential questions of English Canada in no way concern the Quebecois and even harm the development of Quebec.

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.