Hon. Marcel Prud'homme (Saint-Denis):

Mr. Speaker, we were very sorry to learn of the death of a great Canadian, General Jacques Alfred Dextraze.

He enjisted as a soldier in the Fusiliers Mont-Royal, of which he was always a very distinguished member. He served with very great distinction, obtained the highest military honours for war and peacetime service and won many decorations. At the age of 25, he became commander of the Fusiliers Mont Royal and his career reached its peak in September 1972 when he became Chief of the Defence Staff, in which position I had the honour to know him very well while I was chairman of the Standing Committee on External Affairs and National Defence.

He was noble, proud and patriotic. I extend our sincerest condolences to his family, his many friends and especially the Canadian Armed Forces, which, like him, I learned to respect. Quebec and Canada have lost one of their most eminent sons.

All Canadians owe him a debt of gratitude.

Hon. Marcel Prud'homme (Saint-Denis):

Madam Speaker, a very great exhibit opened in Montreal last night on Greek civilization, Macedonia, the kingdom of Alexander the Great, presented by the Societe du Palais de la civilisation in Bonsecours Market.

Until September, we will have an opportunity to better understand this great civilization of Alexander the Great's kingdom. Over 200,000 visitors are expected and this will be a unique opportunity for us in Montreal and Quebec to better understand the Greek community's attachment to its culture.

Madam Speaker, you know the importance we must all attach, and I use that word advisedly, to our own history and culture. That is the issue of the day in Quebec. Therefore I strongly hope that this striking demonstration of the cultural vigour of our Greek friends will help us better understand our fellow Canadians who come from all over the world to share with us their history, their tragedies and their richness.

Hon. Marcel Prud'homme (Saint-Denis):

Mr. Speaker, on a point of order on the same subject.

With my colleague, the hon. member for Glengarry- Prescott-Russell, and under his leadership, I am not ashamed to say and I say so gladly since he is our party critic, I have worked on this question for many years. We have been working on this question for many months and many years. We are now approaching the end of a legislature, and they tell us it cannot be done. I want to register my disagreement, because there is still time to act on the unanimous recommendations of the committee on which we sat.

The senior officers of the House of Commons and the senior officers of the Senate appeared before the committee, and we are still convinced there is enough time, and I see my colleague, the hon. member for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, and I want to make sure I am not making a mistake, we are still convinced that Conservative and Liberal senators, Liberal members, NDP members and Conservative members are unanimous in wanting this legislation. This is no ordinary committee. The committee tabled a report and they produced a bill. We agreed that the bill submitted to the committee did not measure up to the unanimous recommendations of a committee on the conflict of interest question. We worked very hard, without any partisan considerations, and we produced a report. We are still convinced that with some goodwill the government could table a bill.

We are convinced this is the right time, although at first I thought honesty could not be legislated. However since in these troubled times the public and the press are watching us very closely and since they believe that a bill of this kind would help restore Parliament's prestige, we decided to table legislation, and it was acceptable.

My colleague and I no longer speak on behalf of the other parties. My colleague, the hon. member for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, and I still maintain that the time has come to have a legal expert, not for the people appointed by the Governor in Council but a legal expert who would reconcile the personal interests of members and senators. If the government wants to table a second bill for its other appointments, by all means, but we think it still has time to do that, even if time is running short, and I want to make it clear that my colleague and I are really disappointed at the way this has been handled.

May 6, 1993

Hon. Marcel Prud'homme (Saint-Denis):

Mr. Speaker, I am sure all members of this House are as happy as I am at the very good news that Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa has fully recovered his health.

Mr. Bourassa is playing a major role in the harmonious development of a modern Quebec. Often that role has not been easy, but he has always come back to his task with passion and enthusiasm.

We wish him a prompt recovery, since he seems to be in excellent health, and I think that under the circumstances it is appropriate to mention this happy turn of events for Quebec, a Quebec that is seeking a modern identity, a Quebec that wants its economy to be ready to meet the challenges of a modern society.

Hon. Marcel Prud'homme (Saint-Denis):

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, April 24, the entire world will remember the first holocaust of the 20th century.

Armenian Canadians will be on Parliament Hill at 12.30 p.m. to pray and remind humanity of the horror of those years of suffering.

My colleague and friend, the hon. member for Gatineau-La Lievre, along with many other members of Parliament, will give our fellow citizens the assurance of

April 22, 1993

our active commitment to have this event proclaimed by Canada and to take up this issue to the UN.

Sunday evening, in Montreal, I will be present at one of the Armenian churches Sourp Hagop, and I invite all my colleagues to attend.