Supply  Those agreements inevitably open the way to numerous awkward intrusions by the federal government in regional development. Bill C-76 proves that. These are obvious, clear and open intrusions. The Quebec regions suffer from the numerous interferences in regional development and from the lack of consistency of government policies. While dropping its financial involvement in the provinces, the central government is leaving its administrative structures there.

Supply  Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition has just accused me of being undemocratic, of accusing him of wasting the time of the House of Commons. Let us be perfectly clear: of course, the Bloc Quebecois has not only the right but also the obligation to enter the debate on the government budget. They certainly have the right to present their views but when, instead of discussing the budget, they create a phoney issue and make up their own budget that has nothing to do with the one we presented, I certainly agree that they are wasting the time not only of this House but also of the Canadian people.

Supply  Nobody. Therefore, why the review if they are not going to increase pensions? The answer is quite clear. They are reviewing them in order to axe them. Obviously, old age pensions will not be spared by the Liberals, who realize that after cutting funding for the sick, recipients of welfare and students, another potential target for cuts remains: pensioners.

Lobbyists Registration Act  We have been examining over the past couple of weeks the fact the Prime Minister would actually arrange to favour a firm owned by his nephew. That is a clear and flagrant case of nepotism. No one can doubt it. No one should doubt it. It is not only apparent, it is difficult to argue otherwise being that the whole system is filled with people closely connected to Power Corp. or closely connected to the Prime Minister who have actually acted in a very exceptional way overturning a decision by the CRTC.

Lobbyists Registration Act  The bill also touches on the ethics counsellor. The biggest scam perpetrated on the House is in the red book. It is quite clear. It is on page 95: "The ethics counsellor will report directly to Parliament". The ethics counsellor was hired. We know the gentleman's name. We are not questioning his ability. We are questioning to whom the ethics counsellor reports.

Code Of Conduct  They are not answerable to cabinet or to the Prime Minister; they are answerable to the House. That is important. In each case it is clear an arm's length relationship with the government is required for those officers to objectively and adequately discharge their responsibilities. The same is true for the ethics counsellor and for any type of code of conduct for parliamentarians.

Code Of Conduct  For example, the report of the Parker Commission on the dealings of Sinclair and Noreen Stevens was just about forgotten and we did not have a clear recollection of its recommendations. It was not easy to examine the whole issue. However, the issue has not lost any of its importance and we must deal with it. That is why I congratulate the House leader on this motion.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty  The decision we members of the NPT must make is whether to extend the treaty indefinitely or for a more limited duration. Our position is quite clear: we believe that Canadians and people around the world deserve an enduring commitment by their governments to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to pursue nuclear disarmament.

Telecommunications  Speaker, this same question was put on Friday. There is no question of something being tabled. The Prime Minister made it clear in his only comment on this file in my hearing that he wanted nothing to do with it. He removed himself from cabinet when it was discussed at that time. There is really nothing there for the hon. member to ask for.

Telecommunications  Expressvu is loaded with CRTC insiders and Power DirecTv has stronger Liberal ties than Mackenzie King. The only thing that has been clear in all of it is that Canadians are paying the price for the government's lack of coherent cultural policy that favours true competition. My question is for the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

Telecommunications  That is what I call clear. That is transparent.

Code Of Conduct  Because of the lack of an independent ethics counsellor, the work of this committee is ever so much more important. It is pivotal that this committee do good work to come up with a very clear, well defined code of conduct. I would like to see it get into some of the ethical matters as well. It helps to deteriorate the respect of government when members of Parliament and senators break laws which are part of the Criminal Code with increasing frequency.

Code Of Conduct  This government's proposal to appoint a special joint committee of the Senate and the House of Commons to develop a code of conduct is in keeping with the Liberals' habit of acting as if they had a clear conscience in front of the people while at the same time continuing to scheme behind their backs. Before looking at what this Liberal code of conduct is really about, I would like to draw the attention of the House to specific points of the government motion presented by the government House leader.

Product Packaging  Will they have to cut back on their outings, their housing or their food? Can the minister give us a clear answer as to the future of the income security programs for the people who built this country?

Product Packaging  It must now take concrete action instead of making pious wishes! Such action would involve not only the clear legible labeling of the freshness of products by manufacturers but also job creation, industrial restructuring, the conversion of military to civilian industry, help for small and medium-sized businesses and the creation of real jobs that will give Quebeckers and Canadians the money they need to buy fresh, clearly labeled products.