The Budget  I could also mention the outcome of the election in Brome-Missisquoi. I think voters made it quite clear to the hon. member for Sherbrooke that what he represented was not what they wanted. His party came in fourth or fifth. My position is that, with our natural resources, with our culture and with everything we have developed in Quebec in recent years, the people are ready for this question, and they are ready to say yes.

The Budget  The budget tells Canadians the government will be releasing a paper later this year with changes required to the old age security and guaranteed income supplement programs to ensure their affordability. These changes are to take effect in 1997. The budget documents make it clear that significant changes are coming. While it promises undiminished protection for all seniors who are less well off, it gives us no numbers. What does this government consider to be well off?

Supply  Speaker, I want to thank my honorable colleague for his remarks. Perhaps I have not made myself clear or perhaps the member misread what I said. It has to be one way or an other. Maybe we could make a compromise and say there is a shared responsibility. Throughout my speech, I talked about the legacy of the British Parliamentary system and the chance we have had to live in a democracy.

Firearms Act  One can therefore reason that if this is true it is also too early to impose or evaluate the effectiveness of further controls such as a national registration system that would require more time and would place further stress on the already sparse financial resources of the nation's taxpayer. There are clear constraints in public funding when it comes to our police forces that are already responsible for protecting our citizens under other provisions of the Criminal Code. It has been estimated by the justice department that implementation of a registration system could cost up to $85 million with an annual maintenance cost of $10 million, not considering annual increases.

Firearms Act  They should try to determine whether they can legislate that the offence not be subject to a plea bargain or find some other solution. A clear message must be sent to the criminal community in Canada that if criminals carry guns and commit crimes, they will be punished for the crime and for carrying the weapon. I am also supportive of those parts of the bill which would attack the problem of gun smuggling in Canada.

Firearms Act  Let us do everything in our power to stop the 375,000 guns from finding their way into hands of criminals. Let us send a clear message to the people who bring them across the border that if they get caught, they will not just get a slap on the wrist or a fine, but a guarantee of time behind bars. Currently we have mandatory sentences for firearms offences that are not enforced because they are plea bargained away.

Petitions  Speaker, the second petition has a total of 32 signatures from Calgarians who ask Parliament to amend the Canadian Human Rights Act to protect individuals from discrimination based on sexual orientation, sending a clear message of equality for everyone.

Petitions  Since that time new information has emerged that indicates Leonard Peltier was framed for a crime he did not commit and has spent the last 18 years in prison for. Clear evidence was suppressed, as found out under the freedom of information act. Perjury was rampant throughout the trial. Key witness Myrtle Poor Bear recanted publicly. Therefore, the petitioners request that Parliament lobby the U.S. government for Mr.

Fisheries  This is an important issue for the fishermen of Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. This is clear. Atlantic fishermen have unanimously called on the government to take effective action. As the Leader of the Opposition has asked, we have commenced inspection aboard the vessel. Based on the preliminary estimates, not the completed and full inspection, more than 70 per cent of all stock found aboard the vessel is very small, sexually immature fish not capable of reproduction.

Firearms Act  Seventy-one per cent of Canadians support a ban on handguns, 54 per cent of whom are gun owners. It is clear Canadians everywhere think gun control is very important. People talk a lot about the right to bear firearms. Nowhere is this in the Canadian Constitution. The responsibility to store, register and use firearms reasonably and safely is incumbent upon anyone who feels it is their right to own a gun.

Firearms Act  Finally, Speaker Lamoureux cited Abraham and Hawtrey's Parliamentary Dictionary , which states in very clear terms what a reasoned amendment is. It reads at page 162 as follows: This form of amendment seeks-either to give reasons why the house declines to give a second or third reading to the bill, or to express an opinion with regard to its subject matter or to the policy which the bill is intended to fulfil.

Divorce Act  Article 611 of the Civil Code is the real solution to the problems created when there is interference in the personal relations between grandchildren and their grandparents. In Quebec, the recourse of grandparents is clear if the dispute is about a deterioration in harmonious relations attributable to the parents. Notwithstanding its honourable intentions, Bill C-232 is no more than a stopgap solution to the failure of certain provinces to bring in legislation in the area of civil law.

Controlled Drugs And Substances Act  The only thing that remains to be seen is where and when and, above all, who the unfortunate victim will be! It is our responsibility in this House to have a bill that is crystal clear and deals with the true goals to be achieved and leaves law-abiding citizens and pharmacists alone. The House should legislate and not leave it to well-intentioned bureaucrats to regulate.

Defence Policy  He then concluded by saying, "Canadians are entitled to a government that is prepared to lead, a government that has new ideas and new strategies and which helps them adapt to changing times. Our policy on defence conversion is a clear example of how a Liberal government will respond to the needs of Canadians in the 1990s". When we look at, listen to and read what the Liberals were saying when they were the Official Opposition as opposed to what they are not doing now that they are in power, it is clear that they have two languages: one for the left side of their mouths and another for the right side.

Defence Policy  Perhaps action, not more studies, is what we need. You referred to the Abella report and the report released last year which made it clear that discrimination existed in several sectors at National Defence. The facts are there, recommendations have been made, the various parties have responded to the reports that were published, and the only one that is not moving at all is the government.