Mr. Lome Nystrom (Yorkton-Melville):

Mr. Speaker, I can send a copy of Frank Quinn's statement across to the Minister. This gentleman is in the Inland Waters Directorate and said that Canada wanted water exempted from the trade deal.

If the Minister is so confident of his position that water was not discussed, will he undertake to table in this House the

16510 _____________________COMMONS DEBATES___________________June 16, 1988

Oral Questions

previous drafts of this agreement so that we can see whether or not water was in one of the original agreements? Will he do that in the House?

Hon. John C. Crosbie (Minister for International Affairs):

Mr. Speaker, the negotiations went on for a year or a year and a half, and the hon. gentleman wants us to table here in the House every document that passed between the parties. We are not going to do that. It is not necessary.

Water is not affected by the free trade agreement. This country is just as free to do what it wants with its water, to retain its water, to keep its water, to control its water, today as it was a year ago. While this Government is in office, Canada's water is safe just as all Canadians are safe.

Mr. Jacques Guilbault (Saint-Jacques):

Mr. Speaker, I would point out that the Minister who rose earlier in connection with the grant for Alma's industrial incubator did not answer the question. We still do not know under which program this grant was awarded. Mr. Speaker, Conservative candidate Lucien Bouchard-Mr. Clean-who was expected to give the Conservative Party a virginal image must now be very ill at ease with respect to the methods used by his own Party to prevent his election campaign from backfiring in Lac-Saint-Jean.

Mr. Speaker, I have here another press release dated May 27 concerning the expenditure of close to $1.6 million for repair work at Alma's airport. However, in French the release indicates that work would get under way only in 1990. In English . . .

"Construction is scheduled to begin in 1991".

Mr. Speaker, I should like to ask the Deputy Prime Minister whether work is scheduled to begin in 1990 or in 1991, or perhaps the date work begins does not matter at all because the only important thing was that the announcement had to be made before next Monday, June 20, the day of the byelection?

Hon. Bernard Valcourt (Minister of State (Small Businesses and Tourism) and Minister of State (Indian Affairs and Northern Development)):

Mr. Speaker, I am not in a position to respond to the Hon. Member concerning the airport, but I will enquire and tell him whether it will be in 1990 or in 1991. One thing for sure, you will agree that any repairs to the Alma airport will be a boon to the region.

Liberal Party Members seem to think that we ought to stop government assistance to the regions whenever there is an election. That argument does not hold, it does not make sense. I do not think they would have done that in the past and I fail to see why Lac-Saint-Jean residents should be penalized because of the by-election in their riding.

Mr. Jacques Guilbault (Saint-Jacques):

Mr. Speaker, you will notice that the Minister doesn't know under what program the job creation centre in Alma was announced. The Minister doesn't know either when work on the airport will be carried out. It is clear that all these announcements were made only to attract votes. I want to ask the Deputy Prime Minister when he will finally have the decency to stop these million-dollar promises which are being made for only one purpose, and that is to buy votes. What do you think the people of Lac-Saint-Jean are?

Hon. Bernard Valcourt (Minister of State (Small Businesses and Tourism) and Minister of State (Indian Affairs and Northern Development)):

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal Party must be afraid of Lac-Saint-Jean. You must be afraid of what is going to happen there. During the last three years, 18,000 jobs were created in Lac-Saint-Jean. Did the Liberal Party ever rise during that time to congratulate the Government or to accuse us of wanting to buy votes? Economic prosperity is coming back to Quebec's resource regions, and the Liberal Party deplores that fact. For sixteen years, Mr. Speaker, when the Liberal Party was in power, Lac-Saint-Jean was left to its own devices. Our Government is taking care of all the regions of this country and of all Quebec's resource regions, including Lac-Saint-Jean, and not because we are having a by-election, because this has been our policy since 1984.

Mr. John Rodriguez (Nickel Belt):

Mr. Speaker, my question is directed to the Minister responsible for Regional Industrial Expansion.

While the Prime Minister and his candidate in the Lac-Saint-Jean by-election are announcing regional economic development programs worth $1 billion, and while the Minister of Transport is distributing goodies in this riding, Air Alma may well be obliged to close down tomorrow, as result of competition from Inter Canadien.

What is the Minister going to do to save this local business and its 60 jobs?

Hon. Bernard Valcourt (Minister of State (Small Businesses and Tourism) and Minister of State (Indian Affairs and Northern Development)):

Mr. Speaker, we know there would have been no problem for a socialist government, because it would nationalize everything. There would be no competititon. It would be a government...

In this case, the programs are in place. If under the Job Development or Job Strategy Program we can help workers that might be affected ... This is hypothetical, since I don't have the details. But I am sure there are programs to deal with this.

The Hon. Member also referred to the Regional Development Program. One billion dollars has been announced for this program, with the co-operation of the Government of Quebec. This is an important measure for Quebec's resource regions. I am pleased that the New Democratic Party realizes the value of this program. In the weeks to come, programs will be developed in various areas, and perhaps one of these new programs can be used to provide assistance in this particular case, but so far I don't know.

Mr. Speaker, my supplementary question is addressed to the same Minister, the mouth-piece of patronage.

In January 1988, when deregulation came into effect, the Conservatives promised us better service at lower cost.

What is going on with Air Alma reflects exactly what we have seen with the Conservatives, the rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer.

Can the Minister tell us if what we are seeing in Lac Saint-Jean will happen in other remote areas, like Sept-Iles, and Rouyn-Noranda?

Hon. Bernard Valcourt (Minister of State (Small Businesses and Tourism) and Minister of State (Indian Affairs and Northern Development)):

Mr. Speaker, when I hear those people saying that the "rich are getting richer, while the poor..." One thing is sure, in this country, since 1984, far less people are living below the poverty level than before. A lot more people are working than in 1984, when we were elected. And that holds true for every region in this country.

The Government has embarked on a regional development program and has made some considerable changes which have resulted in a healthier economy.

Back home, that means more money to send the children to school, more money for other projects.

So, the rhetoric of the Socialist Party may look terrific in print, but we have seen the results of its application in Manitoba. I don't think Canadians want a piece of it, and that is fine with us. We will continue to implement programs in Quebec and in other regions, just as we have done since 1984, programs which benefit all Canadians.

Oral Questions

Mr. Speaker:

I wish to bring the attention of Members the presence in the gallery of the Hon. Dr. Hisham M. Khatib, Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Hear, hear!

Mr. Don Boudria (Glengarry-Prescott-Russell):

Mr. Speaker, my question is also directed to the Minister for International Trade. In order to sell his free trade salad, the Minister has hired no less than six public relations firms to do the cross-Canada trips. That is in addition to the seventh firm, of course, which just happens to be run by his former campaign manager. What selection process was utilized to hire these firms which, by happy coincidence, resulted in the fact that Prime Public Relations Inc. run by Mr. Garry Watton, a well-known Conservative, got the contract in Newfoundland; that Saga Communications Ltd., which contributed $3,000 to the Conservative Party, got the contract for the Maritimes; that Basin, Dumas, Dupre and Sormany, which contributed $3,000, got the contract for Quebec, and so on? What happy coincidence led to this? And can the Minister indicate to this House approximately how much it will cost to reward the few Tories left in this country who have not yet been rewarded?

Hon. John C. Crosbie (Minister for International Trade):

Mr. Speaker, I can quite truly tell the House that I do not know who has been awarded contracts-