Supply  I must say there is a lot of community of thought on this, both in the remarks made yesterday by the hon. members of the Bloc Quebecois and in the remarks made today by the hon. member for St. Albert on behalf of the Reform Party. We all want to address these issues of how the taxpayers' money can be spent most efficiently and effectively and how we can cut down on the problems that the Auditor General raises so that in future years we will have a lot less of what are known as horror stories and a lot more success stories.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I confirm to my hon. colleague again we recognize there is a problem and it has to be dealt with as far as the dearth or extinction of the fish in the Atlantic and the Grand Banks and the need for Canadians to help the fishermen there is concerned. I just want to point out there has to be clarity in the role. the House has set forth a specific direction within the legislation that perhaps was not clear.

Supply  Speaker, is a great concern for Quebec in particular, but also for the whole of Canada, because the costs are estimated to be in the billions of dollars. I would like to have the opinion of the hon. member for St. Albert, as well as other Reform members, on this issue of duplication of services.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague has made tremendous recommendations. I started my speech by saying that this is only the third time in the history of the House that we have had a serious debate on the Auditor General's report. I would certainly encourage and support any action that can be taken by the government that the debate of the Auditor General's report be given much more serious attention and become a standard part of the calendar of the House.

Supply  If this is what you want to do, and I believe it is, fine. But we also want to do it, and the Reform Party wants to do it as well. However, what I said was that there is already a committee where this can be done. The chairperson of that committee will be a Bloc Quebecois member. Do we have a majority?

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for bringing forward those points and I want to thank the Bloc Quebecois for bringing forward this motion. It points to a very serious problem, the fiscal and monetary situation that Canada is in. We have seen successive governments plunge this country into debt to the point where the members who speak on behalf of the Fraser Institute of Canada, which held a seminar here that many of our members attended, are suggesting we may be beyond the point of return in getting our fiscal and monetary house in order.

Supply  Before answering him, I would like to point out that, as one of my fellow Bloc members said just now, the committee that we are calling for would meet one of the promises made by the Liberals in their red book to examine spending thoroughly. If the Reform Party agrees with our proposal, why are we arguing with each other? We all agree. Now, to answer the question about the difference between the public accounts committee and the one that we are calling for, as I just said, this is to be a committee with a specific time-limited mandate and increased powers which would go beyond the annual auditing routine done by the public accounts committee and which would tackle a specific current situation that the hon. member said was urgent and current.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I appreciated the comments, especially when the member was specific about relating some of the things I was concerned about in my presentation. I wonder if the member has any more details as to when the PS 2000 report will be tabled in the House.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, it is good we have a few points we agree on. I appreciate that. Since the public accounts committee is generally chaired by a member of the opposition party and especially since it holds that chair it can set the direction and the tone of the public accounts committee.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I was fairly specific. I am talking now about the deputy minister level. By and large our civil servants are good, dedicated people even at the deputy minister level. The problem is that the people at the low end of the scale who deliver the services are generally the whipping boys for lack of action at the top, and I include the House of Commons in that.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I thank the member opposite for his question. First of all I cannot comment on the motivations for the Bloc Quebecois to bring this motion forward. I really do not know what the intent was. All I can say is that was my reaction in reviewing it and that is what prompted my engagement in the debate today.

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to explain something to the hon. member from the Reform Party. Our party is asking for a special committee to examine public expenditures while the minister is worried about duplication since there already is a public accounts committee. I understand his question, but the committee on public accounts is responsible for assessing the legality of public expenditures.

Business Of The House  Speaker, today, as we know, is an opposition day with a motion proposed by the Bloc Quebecois. Tomorrow there will be an opposition day with a motion proposed by the Reform Party. On Monday we will deal with Bill C-9 and the amendments to the Income Tax Act. If second reading of that bill is completed we will begin second reading of Bill C-8, dealing with the right of peace officers to use a deadly force.

Justice  If my hon. friend's proposal was followed we would be doing the convicted foreigner a favour by getting him out of the country before he paid the penalty required by Canadian law. I do not know why the Reform Party would want that to happen if its members are interested in law and order.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Health. As a physician I am appalled at the reduction of taxes on tobacco. It is going to create a quarter of a million new smokers among children. One-half of those children are going to die of smoking related illnesses and each of those children is going to have up to 20 years knocked off his or her lifespan.