Petitions  Therefore we request that Parliament oppose any attempt to alter our ability to provide for secure retirement by way of taxation of assets or income of RRSPs and pension plans". The message is clear, Madam Speaker. Do not touch our RRSPs or our pension plans.

Taxation  Mr. Speaker, one thing is don't ever be the Swedish finance minister. We have made it very clear that in the next budget we intend to deal with the deficit primarily by cutting government spending. We have said that. The Prime Minister has said that on countless occasions. I can confirm it to the member opposite.

Taxation  We know that Canadians do not want to see themselves burdened with further taxes. That has been made very clear. The Prime Minister stated it. He also knows that until I bring down the budget, I am not really going to respond to individual questions. I understand that the Reform Party is desperately trying to get ahead of the movement that is so far ahead of it.

The Economy  He is dealing with the lives of real people, not just balance sheets. Will the Prime Minister send a clear signal to Canadians and tell them that their tax burden will not be increased by his government in its upcoming budget?

The Economy  I am confident that when the budget is tabled, the Liberal Party will, as always, find a middle ground and will not make indiscriminate cuts, nor go to the other extreme of refusing to control government spending. We gave a clear idea of where we stand in the last budget and we will do it again in the upcoming one.

Post-Secondary Education  Speaker, I remind the Minister of Human Resources Development that the motion was unanimously approved; in other words, it was also supported by the Quebec Liberal Party. Are we to understand that, by refusing to provide a clear answer, the federal government persists in wanting to eliminate cash transfer payments and instead allocate part of these funds to the Canada Student Loans Program, without any regard for the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces over education?

Social Program Reform  But it is the best record we have seen in one heck of a long time. The Minister of Human Resources Development made it very clear when he embarked on the program of social security reform that we intended to bring it into the nineties, that we intended to make social security reform a very important part of the job creation capacity of the country and a very important part of the overall program of the government.

Immigration Act  It is not something that is easily done. It is not something that can be done summarily or just on a whim. It has to be based on clear legal arguments. It is different from an appeal on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. I might ask my colleagues across the way to appreciate the substance of the difference, to appreciate that it is an important difference, and to give the government credit for changing the process from three years to 30 days.

Immigration Act  For instance, since its decision in the Singh case in 1985, the Supreme Court has determined that everyone in Canada, not just every citizen or every permanent resident but everyone in Canada, is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. According to the Supreme Court, an inquiry is necessary in situations that are not clear. The Supreme Court also says that the potential cost of conducting an inquiry on certain refugees does not constitute reasonable grounds for restricting that right, even if the government says it would be too expensive.

Message From The Senate  The Bloc Quebecois wanted to know, and still wants to know, if the Prime Minister stands by what he wrote in his autobiography where he said: "If we lose the referendum, we will respect Quebecers' wishes and accept separation". The Prime Minister answered my question by saying, first of all, that he wanted a clear question, adding that he would not answer any hypothetical question. The Prime Minister should realize that he is inconsistent in his statements. By not clarifying his stand on wishes democratically expressed by Quebecers, the Prime Minister is refusing to give an opinion on the right of the Quebec people to decide their future.

Privilege  In view of the season, our agenda this afternoon, and the fact that I would like to think it was a simple misunderstanding with the press gallery, perhaps I could suggest that Your Honour take the matter up with the press gallery to ensure that there are no misunderstandings about the rights of all members to have access to all open rooms in the parliamentary precincts, barring of course the other place beyond the bar, washrooms of the opposite gender and common sense things. If you would do that, Your Honour, I think it might clear up the matter.

International Trade  Speaker, the Canadian government will pursue all its options in defending the Canadian position in the face of U.S. action with which we may disagree. However I want to make it fundamentally clear that in the process we will not engage in any game of trading off one region of the country against another or one commodity against another or one group of producers against another.

Health Care  As a matter of fact the leader said he was opposed to user fees and did not want to decrease access to the health care system. I have a quote here which says: "I want to make it absolutely clear that the Reform Party is not promoting private health care deductibles or user fees". If there is a blunder that has been made during this year it is by the Reform Party. We have kept our word.

Security Intelligence Review Committee  Speaker, today's SIRC report on the Bristow affair highlights the inadequacies of checks and balances on CSIS. It is also clear that the mechanisms for monitoring the activities of CSIS are ineffectual. They are open to political manipulation by virtue of the patronage appointments to the Security Intelligence Review Committee.

Department Of Canadian Heritage Act  I am proud to be the member for Bonaventure-Îles-de-la-Madeleine, I have the confidence of my riding and I am working in the best interests of my constituents, and this means being in Quebec, a Quebec that is part of Canada. Is that clear?