Mr. Speaker, I will be here a long time if I say everything I have to say about what was just said. In any case, I probably will use up the five minutes I have at my disposal. On to my reply.
He says that there is a philosophy behind each of our actions. So much the better. This is what gives us depth and allows us to think articulately. I just heard a bunch of unrelated comments on
various issues, but almost nothing about my motion. He seized the opportunity to talk about everything and anything.
Francophones outside of Quebec, of course we know they exist. We have reminded the House of their existence since we were elected. The Liberals forgot about them for the nine years they were the opposition. They forgot about Quebecers. They forgot about Francophones outside of Quebec. They did not even speak French in the House anymore. It was us who put French back on the map. We were the ones who built it up again, not the hon. member for Outremont, not the Liberals opposite who forgot about French for nine years. They have nothing on us when it comes to this issue.
He did not realize that the budget cuts Radio-Canada's funding by $679 million over three years. He did not even read the whole thing through. That is only for the Department of Canadian Heritage, and half of it would have gone to the CBC. The member accuses us of acting in bad faith. He talks about a reform. We have nothing against progress. I believe that everyone should have access to the information highway. But in the meantime, can we continue to walk on a gravel road? Can we keep our television? The member also said that if we all worked together, and went in the same direction-this is beginning to sound like the ewe the minister spoke of the other day.
On a more serious note, he says that the CBC reflects a Canadian reality. This may be true for the English-language network, but the French-language network reflects the Quebec reality. Just ask Mrs. Fortin who, when she appeared before the heritage committee, was told to try to better reflect the Canadian French-speaking reality. For example, with adequate funding, CBC's French-language network could produce soaps from the Prairies.
The member referred to the head office. He said that we work for the head office, or as some would say, the mother house. I was brought up by nuns and I have no problem with the concept of mother house. In the context of multinational corporations, we often refer to head offices. But what do they do with their subsidiaries, with Michel Bélanger, Daniel Johnson and Stéphane Dion? This is no better. It is exactly the same thing. The head office in this instance is Power Corporation.
The member also referred to what he called-hear me out, I want to get this right-the NCST, the new Canada social transfer. I hope this will not turn out to be what we anticipate. The member alluded to the costs incurred by the commissions. He said the exercise was a waste of time. To respect democracy and consult people is now a waste of money. This is preposterous. How much is spent on Canadian unity? Two hundred dollars a day for each of the spies in each of the commissions. You can figure out the total, Mr. Speaker.
The member crows about the international Francophonie, which is in fact the result of the efforts of the leader of the opposition when he was Canada's ambassador to France, as well as then Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and then Quebec Premier Pierre-Marc Johnson. These three true Quebecers cared about the future of Francophonie, not about seeing French-speaking Canadians disappear through assimilation.