Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act, 1994  Structures change and, just as the caterpillar develops into a butterfly, there is a way to change and adjust to new realities. Today's economic markets are very big; it is no longer necessary to be as big as the economic markets we are dealing with. That being the case, I think it is important to give ourselves appropriate structures. We can give ourselves enough time to think about what form the Canadian electoral map we lived with last year should take in the future, so that we can make wise decisions and take into account other factors besides population distribution.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act, 1994  When we drafted this bill and consulted the opposition parties, we proposed an 18 month period but the Reform Party, the very sponsor of the amendments we are debating today, wanted to make sure that the process would be longer; they said that 18 months was not long enough and all of a sudden they propose to reduce this period to 12 months. We believe that 12 months is too short. We do not believe that this timeframe will cause problems for the committee in charge of reviewing the process, but rather that problems will arise once the committee's review is over.

Budget Implementation Act, 1994  When I hear the Minister of Human Resources Development say that he wants to require beneficiaries to work for longer periods to qualify for the same number of weeks of benefits, my hair stands on end! As if the unemployed chose to be out of work. That is not the problem, Mr. Speaker. Unemployment in our area is due to the lack of jobs and to the fact that more and more people have to go from one temporary job to another.

The Budget  Fewer people are unemployed because more people are on welfare. When people go on welfare, they are no longer included in the unemployment statistics, and so the government is satisfied. This does not make sense. And the few jobs that were created are not durable jobs. I want to ask the Prime Minister whether he will let his government review its deficit reduction strategy to restore its credibility with the financial markets.

Gun Control  As a woman I feel particularly vulnerable. As a female constituent of mine stated, why must I lose my freedom and live in fear? No longer should we tolerate these violent and senseless crimes. I urge not only the Minister of Justice but the whole House to unite and move rapidly to adopt stringent gun controls.

Budget Implementation Act, 1994  The reform of social security programs is essential if we are to meet head on the challenges of the 1990s and beyond. We can no longer use an outdated system to solve modern problems. It just is not working. We have too many people without jobs, too many families under stress, too many young people who have given up hope and too many Canadians who have lost their confidence in the future.

Budget Implementation Act, 1994  They were afraid, perhaps of the misunderstandings, of the code words. They were afraid to face the challenge of saying to people that the systems were no longer working and new ways of giving Canada a better social security system should be looked at. We have accepted the challenge. We have said that unemployment insurance as it exists today simply does not reflect contemporary reality.

Auditor General Act  Macdonell, did us all a great service by bringing this to the attention of this House in no uncertain terms. Things are quite different today. The public service is no longer growing and the reduction in the operation budgets of departments is imposing a discipline of its own. Things have changed and it may be that the Auditor General's usefulness to this House is constrained not just by the annual reporting requirement but by other limitations as well.

Public Service  In speaking in the committee the hon. member for Ottawa West said that the amendment represented a renewed commitment to some very positive action to ensure that people in the four designated groups are no longer denied opportunities to be whatever they are capable of being in the public service of this country. To return to the annual report that I have tabled, I should note that the Treasury Board has been publishing employment equity data since 1988.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act  It is with reluctance that I rise but the member has used up his full 10 minutes. If the member is going to be just a little longer we might ask the House if there is unanimous consent that he might conclude his remarks. Would there be unanimous consent to allow the member for Bramalea-Gore-Malton to conclude his remarks?

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act  For example, in my riding of Kamouraska-Rivière-du-Loup which would take in the regional municipality of Témiscouata, there would be over 60 municipalities grouped together in four different regional municipalities: Basques, 11 municipalities; Rivière-du-Loup, 16 municipalities; Kamouraska, 18 municipalities; Témiscouata, 20 municipalities. Elected representatives might need longer parliamentary breaks just to travel to the various parts of their ridings. For instance, the population of the riding would increase from 73,747 to more than 88,000 over a really vast area.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act  We just have to reflect back to October 1992 at which time politics in the country took a dramatic turn for the better. The Canadian people said back then that they were no longer going to be led by the political parties. They were going to have a say in what was going on in the country. They sent out that very clear message. That message can be ignored in the House at our peril.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act  This area, which is isolated from all other areas with the exception of Ahuntsic, has a large Italian community, which in the process would also be isolated from its natural centre, the Italian parish of Notre-Dame-de-Pompéi. This community would no longer enjoy integrated federal representation. Between this area and its new riding lies the vast Miron quarry dump. Saint-Sulpice, where I live, is faced with a similar situation. The parish is separated from its community organizations, and so forth.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act  Many of us prepared briefs and speeches for these advertised meetings. Our work is all for naught. The fact is it is no longer an open process but instead, when things are not going their way, the process has been cut off. Another nail in the coffin of openness. In conclusion, I have a couple of proposals that I would like to make to the government.

Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Suspension Act  We make laws, we change laws, we amend laws. Sometimes we even strike laws from the books when we think they no longer represent what Canadians want. However we are not above the law. In our positions as members of this great House, the very cradle of our democracy, we are in positions of great power.