Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, I would first like to say to my hon. colleague that if he finds my comments disturbing, that is perfect. That is why we are here. Could the Conservative government have done something before? I think so, but in my view the Conservative government and the Liberal government are Tweedledum and Tweedledee: they never solve problems when the problems are Quebec’s.

Committees of the House  Mr. Speaker, to start off, I will take it upon myself to remind some of my colleagues what supply management is and what benefits it has. The dairy sector, as well as the poultry and egg sectors, operate under this system. Supply management is based on a number of basic principles that prevent overproduction and shortages thanks to a production quota system designed to fully supply the domestic market without creating surpluses.

Mirabel Airport Lands  Mr. Speaker, nearly 50 years ago, thousands of people were kicked out of their homes by the federal government so that it could build the Mirabel airport. It was a colonialist fiasco of historic proportions. Today, the residents of Mirabel whose land was expropriated and their descendants want their land back, but the government is putting it up for sale.

Dairy Industry  Mr. Speaker, dairy farmers are in Ottawa to urge the government to solve the diafiltered milk problem. The Minister of Agriculture says that it is not a dairy product when it goes through customs, but that same minister says it is a dairy product when the time comes to make cheese with it.

Dairy Industry  Mr. Speaker, today, dairy producers began a three-day tractor trek from Quebec City to Ottawa to remind the government of its election promises. They are travelling across Quebec to protest the importation of diafiltered milk, which robs them of thousands of dollars every week.

Aerospace Industry  Mr. Speaker, Ottawa is still demanding an end to family control of Bombardier, and now, apparently, it wants the company to issue $1 billion in stock. That stock could be purchased by foreigners and would further dilute Quebec control of the company. Worse still, the suggestion seems to have come from the Wall Street consultant whom the government hired because its own officials recommended offering just a line of credit.

Business of Supply  Madam Speaker, I would remind the minister that before anyone quotes Mr. Martin, it is important to remember the Canada Steamship Lines scandal. He was hiding money in tax havens when he should have been paying taxes on it here. She should maybe think twice before she quotes the former prime minister.

Business of Supply  Mr. Speaker, I must admit that I rather agree with some of the comments by my colleague from Outremont, especially as they relate to the empty rhetoric we heard from the member for Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia. We often hear empty rhetoric from that source, so this is par for the course.

Bombardier  Mr. Speaker, it only took the government a few weeks to decide to hand over $10 billion to GM, but the Bombardier file has been on hold for over a year. The Conservative government did nothing, and the Liberals are even worse: they are doing more harm than good. With a weak dollar and share prices at rock bottom, only the Bombardier family's votes are protecting the company from a foreign takeover and, ultimately, its demise.

Bombardier  Mr. Speaker, since the Liberals are not defending Quebec's aerospace industry, politicians from English Canada have free rein to spew their venom and say that Bombardier is a spoiled child that lives on handouts from the rest of Canada. This morning, in The Globe and Mail, a Bombardier vice-president set the the record straight.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, last week, the UPA and the Government of Quebec both called on the federal government to regulate imports of diafiltered milk. This morning, a central-Quebec-based group of agri-food advocates known as the Front commun de la filière agroalimentaire weighed in. On page 127 of the budget, the government talks about eliminating tariffs on food manufacturing ingredients other than supply-managed products.

The Budget  Mr. Speaker, the federal budget has a direct impact on major sectors of Quebec's economy. The government has already said that there is nothing in the budget to help Aveos workers and Bombardier workers. The Liberals refuse to commit to providing any compensation for dairy and cheese producers for lost revenues associated with the Canada-EU trade agreement.

Housing  Mr. Speaker, the Canadian homelessness strategy, which focuses on a housing-first approach, is simply not working. The Prime Minister publicly supported the strategy developed by organizations that work with the homeless to protect Quebec's more broadly based approach, while also promising to increase Quebec's share to $50 million a year.

International Trade  Mr. Speaker, the free trade agreement with the U.S. was supposed to ensure trade peace. However, the forestry industry has had to deal with one dispute after another. Our industry has done nothing wrong and wants only one thing: the return of free trade as defined by NAFTA. The government is hurting Quebec's forestry industry by doing nothing about these protectionist measures.

Air Canada  Mr. Speaker, in order to privatize Air Canada, the Mulroney government made a solemn promise to the people of Quebec and enshrined guarantees for maintenance activities in the law. Since the Conservatives and the Liberals decided not to enforce the law, Air Canada has had free rein to break it.