1988-12-12

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FIRST SESSION-THIRTY-FOURTH PARLIAMENT 37 Elizabeth II

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Published under authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons by the Queen's Printer for Canada
Available from Canada Communication Group - Publishing, Supply and Services Canada, Ottawa, Canada K1A 0S9.
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Monday, December 12, 1988

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The Thirty-third Parliament having been dissolved by proclamation on Saturday, October 1, 1988, and writs having been issued and returned, a new Parliament was summoned to meet for the dispatch of business on Monday, December 12, 1988, and did accordingly meet on that day.
Monday, December 12, 1988 This being the day on which Parliament was convoked by proclamation of Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada for the dispatch of business, and the Members of the House being assembled:
Robert Marleau, Esquire, Clerk of the House of Commons, read to the House a letter from the Administrative Secretary to the Governor General informing him that the Right Honourable Brian Dickson, in his capacity as Deputy Governor General, would proceed to the Senate Chamber to open the first session of the Thirty-fourth Parliament of Canada on Monday, the twelfth day of December, at Ottawa.
A message was delivered by The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod as follows:
Members of the House of Commons:
It is the desire of the Honourable the Deputy to Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada that this honourable House attend him immediately in the Chamber of the honourable the Senate.
Accordingly, the House went up to the Senate Chamber, where the Speaker of the Senate said: Honourable Members of the Senate, Members of the House of Commons:
I have it in command to let you know that Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada does not see fit to declare the causes of her summoning the present Parliament of Canada until a Speaker of the House of Commons shall have been chosen, according to law; but this afternoon at the hour of four o'clock, Her Excellency will declare the causes of her calling Parliament.
And the House being returned to the Commons Chamber:
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The Clerk of the House: Pursuant to Standing Order 3, I would ask Mr. Prud'homme, Member for the electoral constituency of Saint-Denis, to take the chair and preside over the election of a Speaker.

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The President of the Election (Mr. Prud'homme):
Dear colleagues, I happen to know that before proceeding with any strictly political activity I would meet your wish by asking you to make a humanitarian gesture concerning the unfortunate Armenian people.
In acknowlegement of the fact that human solidarity transcends Parties, countries, and even regimes, giving all men and women on earth every reason to hope, let us observe one minute of silence.
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Would you now kindly rise for a minute of silence. [Editor's Note: Whereupon the House stood in silence.]

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The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): Pursuant to the provisions of the Standing Orders the House will now proceed with the election of a Speaker.
Mr. Dan Heap (Trinity-Spadina):: Although I had signed and sent in my withdrawal form, I did not have

December 12, 1988
Election of Speaker
the opportunity to be sworn in until five to nine today because the writ was not available. I did not pursue the issue since I was not eligible. Now that I am eligible to stand, I would ask the permission of the House to allow me to withdraw.

The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): I thank the Hon. Member but, according to the Standing Orders, the list cannot be changed before the first ballot. However the House has heard the request of the Hon. Member and will certainly respect his wish.
The Hon. Member for Burnaby-Kingsway (Mr. Robinson).


Mr. Svend J. Robinson (Burnaby-Kingsway):: I did
submit pursuant to the Standing Order a request that my name not be considered for Speaker, despite the vigorous encouragement of my Leader that I do stand.


Some Hon. Members:: Oh, oh!
The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): I repeat, the Clerk has accepted only replies signed by Members and received by six o'clock last night. Although the list cannot be amended before the first ballot, I am sure the House has heard the Member's remarks and will no doubt respect the Member's wishes.


Mr. George Baker (Gander-Grand Falls):: I too
wrote to the Clerk asking that my name be removed, but apparently it got lost in the mail.
The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): I need not repeat what I just said. I am sure that the House will respect the Member's wishes, but his name will still appear.


Mr. Lyle D. MacWilliam (Okanagan-Shuswap):: Due to the fact of my late swearing in I was also unavailable to have my name stricken from the ballot. I wish to have that done at this time.
The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): The same will apply. Members will realize that we cannot withdraw any names before the first ballot. I am sure the House will respect the Member's wishes.


Mr. Gilles Loiselle (Langelier):: Eventually, Sir, I should like to withdraw my candidacy.
The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): Well, eventually means after the first ballot, but for the time
being the name of the Hon. Member will remain on the ballot paper.
Order, please. The Hon. Members eligible to be Speaker in accordance with the Standing Orders at six o'clock Sunday in alphabetical order, were: George S. Baker, John Bosley, John A. Fraser, Dan Heap, Jean-Pierre Hogue, Alex Kindy, Gilles Loiselle, Lyle Dean MacWilliam, Arnold Malone, Svend J. Robinson, Raymond Skelly, Maurice Tremblay.
In accordance with the Standing Orders, an alphabetical list of names of all Members who notified the Clerk of the House in writing that they did not wish to have their names stand for candidacy, together with a list of names of those Members who are not eligible, has been placed on each Member's desk.

For the benefit of Hon. Members, a list of names of those Members who are eligible to be considered for election to the office of Speaker has also been placed on each Member's desk. These lists are also available at the Table.

I also point out that an alphabetical list of the Members eligible to be considered for election to the office of Speaker has been posted in each voting station. After the Clerk has unsealed the ballots, I will suggest to the House a procedure that will make voting easier.

After the Clerk has unsealed the ballots I will suggest a method of proceeding which will help accelerate the voting process.

The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): Order, please. As we are about to begin voting, I take this opportunity to remind Hon. Members to print the first and last names of their candidate on the ballot.
I would now ask Hon. Members who wish to cast ballots to leave their desks through the curtains and to come to the Table using the entrances on either side of the Chair appropriate to the side of the House on which they sit. The clerk will issue them a ballot.

Upon casting their ballot, will all Hon. Members please leave the voting area in order to avoid congestion. Will all Members please proceed behind the curtains.
December 12, 1988

[Editor's Note: The list of eligible Members referred to above is as follows:]
Baker, George S. Bosley, John Fraser, John A. Heap, Dan Hogue, Jean-Pierre Kindy, Alex Loiselle, Giles
MacWilliam, Lyle Dean (North Island-Powell River) Malone, Arnold Robinson, Svend J.
Skelly, Raymond Tremblay, Maurice (Lotbiniere)
The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): Order. Will you kindly take your seats.

I would now ask the Hon. Members who have not voted and wish to do so to come forward immediately.
Order, please. All Members having voted, I do now instruct the Clerk to proceed with the counting of the ballots, once I have voted myself.


SITTING SUSPENDED
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The Returning Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): Before I suspend the sitting, I wish to remind Hon. Members that, when the counting has been completed, the bells to call the Members to the House will be sounded for not more than five minutes.
The sitting is suspended to the ringing of the bell.
At 10.17 a.m. the sitting of the House was suspended.

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The House resumed at 10.47 a.m.
The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): Order. It is my duty to inform the House that John A. Fraser, Member for the Electoral District of Vancouver South, has been duly elected Speaker of this House.
Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!
The Presiding Officer (Mr. Prud'homme): It is with great pleasure that I do now invite the Hon. Member to take the chair.
[Editor's Note: And Mr. Prud'homme conducted Mr. Fraser from his seat in the House to the chair.]
Election of Speaker


Mr. Speaker:: Hon. Members, I beg to return my humble acknowledgements to the House for the honour which it has been pleased to confer upon me by choosing me to be your Speaker.

Hon. Members, I beg to return my humble acknowledgements to the House for the honour which you have been pleased to confer upon me by choosing me to be your Speaker.

It was just over two years ago that I had the honour of uttering those traditional first words as Speaker of the House of Commons in the Thirty-third Parliament. It is with great pride, honour and humility that I graciously accept your trust to be your Speaker for the Thirty-fourth Parliament.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Mr. Speaker:: First of all, I want to thank the Hon. Member for Saint-Denis (Mr. Prud'homme) for presiding this morning over our election.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Mr. Speaker:: Having served his riding and country as an elected representative for twenty-four years, he certainly deserves the title of Dean of the House of Commons.


Some Hon. Member:: Hear, hear!


Mr. Speaker:: Over these many years, the Hon. Member for Saint-Denis has been the friend and loyal adviser of a great many Members on both sides of the House and especially the friend and support of the succeeding occupants of the Chair, from Mr. Speaker Mcnaughton to your humble servant. I want to thank him for his friendship and support.

I want also to thank all of the Members of the House for their vote of trust and confidence. I say this because without the support of all Hon. Members, in good times and bad, a Speaker cannot adequately and properly serve the Members who elected him.
I know you would want me also to take a moment to express our appreciation to the Clerk, Deputy Clerk and other Table Officers who under great pressure and time

December 12, 1988
Election of Speaker
constraints ensured that this sitting and election were conducted with sophistication and professionalism.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Mr. Speaker:: I want to say to all Members, but especially to new Members, that the Table Officers, as has your Speaker, have adopted an open-door policy for all Members, particularly newly elected Members, and are available for consultation and advice at all times.
The history of the speakership goes back many centuries. Some of you are aware of it and some have only heard dimly of those distant days when the Speaker was chosen by the Commons to take messages to the King. You all know that sometimes those messages were not well received. Undoubtedly the expression "Don't shoot the messenger" stems from those days. Sometimes Speakers did not return. Today, the great test is not when the Speaker goes to see the King but when the Speaker comes to see you.
As I have said in the past, this is not a Chamber for the timid. We have developed an adversarial form of government based on concepts of parliamentary democracy. This is a Chamber where the great decisions of the country are made; and it is a place where history is formulated every day.
Our great friend, the late Tommy Douglas, once said that politics is the "noblest of professions but the vilest of trades". Mr. Douglas knew all too well that men and women from across Canada fight hard to earn a seat in this magnificent Chamber, and that they arrive with great opinions and convictions on the issues facing our nation.

Parliament, which is derived from the French "parler", is a forum of free expression and vigorous exchanges. But freedom of expression could not prevail without a reasonable degree of order, for without it, it would be impossible for one to express oneself freely.

Many years ago a former Prime Minister and parliamentarian, the Right Hon. John Diefenbaker, said this about this place:
One moment it's a cathedral, at another time there are no words to describe when it ceases, for short periods, to have any regards of the proprieties that constitute not only Parliament but its tradition. I've seen it in all its greatness. I have inwardly wept when it's degraded.
As your Speaker, it will be my goal to work with all Hon. Members to ensure the greatness of this institution that we so deeply love and respect and that it be able to function no matter how sincere differences may be, and no matter how passionately views are expressed.
Although the Speaker is, above all, the servant of the House, the Speaker is invested by all of you with considerable authority. Some Speakers I know have had the reputation of being authoritarian.
The 19th Century British Speaker, Arthur Wellesley Peel, was said to be able to quell disorder by rising in his majesty and fixing the offenders with a steely glare. I have tried it, and it does not work.
Thomas B. Reed, who was the President of the House of Representatives some years ago, was also known as being authoritarian. One of his constituents wrote to him asking for a copy of the rules of the House. In his response Speaker Reed sent back an autographed photo of himself.

I do not believe any Speaker of the House ever went that far either in Canada or Great Britain.

The speakership throughout the Commonwealth is moulded in the British tradition. The Speaker's responsibilities are exclusively to the House and to its Members.

As long as they sit in this illustrious chair, the Speakers must strive to give proof of justice, equity and neutrality, among other qualities.

It is appropriate to be reminded again of those historic words of Speaker Lenthall when, in 1642, the King entered the House of Commons with an armed force and demanded that the Speaker reveal the whereabouts of some Members. The Speaker said:
May it please Your Majesty, 1 have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me, whose servant 1 am.
On a personal note, may I take a moment to thank my constituents in Vancouver South for their continued trust, and the members of my family who, through a political career that now goes back over 20 years, have always been at my side.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!
December 12, 1988


Mr. Speaker:: I wish also to thank this House's friend and adviser, our honorary Officer at the Table, the Hon. Stanley Knowles, for being with us today.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Mr. Speaker:: Finally, let us remember some appropriate words from one of our country's greatest parliamentarians, Edward Blake, who said in 1873:
The privileges of Parliament are the privileges of the people, and the rights of Parliament are the rights of the people.
One hundred and fifteen years later, those words are still true-we should remember them.

Finally, I wish to thank again all Hon. Members of the House for their support.

I am your servant, and I will need your continued support to carry out my duties to you in this Chamber.
Let us all in the interests of the country, our love, do our duty. Thank you.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!
[And the Mace having been laid upon the Table:]


Mr. Speaker:: The Right Hon. Prime Minister.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Right Hon. Brian Mulroney (Prime Minister):: Mr. Speaker, I wish to offer you my heartfelt congratulations on your election. I am very impressed, of course, with your back-to-back majorities.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Martin Brian Mulroney: Above all, I want to salute in you, Sir, a faithful and dedicated servant of Parliament who has guided us well through a momentous period of our recent history. Your service to the House of Commons and to all of us has been sterling and noble.
On behalf of all Members, irrespective of political backgrounds, I salute you today, Sir, as a genuine leader of Parliament and a servant of us all.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear.


Martin Brian Mulroney: Mr. Speaker, since you were first elected to this office, you have heard pressing arguments and passionate debates from both sides of the House on crucial questions for the future of Canada. Thanks to your personal qualities and your great sense of responsibility, these discussions could be held within the bounds
Election of Speaker
of dignity and, at all times, of relevancy. We are all grateful to you.

We have not achieved unanimity very often here, before or since your election as Speaker, nor did we expect that we would. However, I think I can speak for all who have sat in this House during the two years that you, Sir, have occupied the presidency, when I say that you, Mr. Speaker, were a most important participant in the thorough and careful study of the important and delicate questions that have been raised by Members in this House of Commons.
The confidence just reiterated in you by your colleagues from all sides of the House is a tribute to the objective, the dignified and serene way in which you have presided over our often difficult deliberations.
I wish, Mr. Speaker, to assure you today of my respectful co-operation and that of my colleagues during the session that we are about to inaugurate. On behalf of not only Members from all sides of the House but, I suppose, in a special way, if I may say so, with the concurrence of the Right Hon. Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Turner) and the Leader of the NDP, on behalf of all Canadians who have come to see in you a symbol of parliamentary democracy, I thank you for your contribution and I wish you and your family well.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Mr. Speaker:: The Right Hon. Leader of the Opposition.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Right Hon. John N. Turner (Leader of the Opposition):: Mr. Speaker, that is just a prelude of things to come.
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to have the privilege of congratulating my constituency neighbour, the Hon. Member for Vancouver South, on his re-election as Speaker of this House of Commons. I do that not only in my capacity as Leader of the Opposition but also as a personal friend of over a quarter century's standing. I echo in personal terms the good wishes of the Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) not only to you, Sir, as a gentleman of first rank, but to your family who have given you unquestionable support over the years.

Election of Speaker
Some Eton. Members: Hear, hear!


John Napier Turner: This is only the second time that we have elected a Speaker through the use of secret ballot in this House. You have every right to be very proud that in the last two years you have sufficiently impressed all of those of us in the last Parliament, and through what we have said to the newer Members who were just elected, with your skill, your calm and your judicious approach so as to warrant your re-election.
It is an enormous tribute to anyone to be recognized by his peers, certainly peers who have been elected by the citizens of Canada, to have been elected not once but twice. Anyone who has faced that ordeal a number of times knows that the second election is better than the first.

Mr. Speaker, you have earned the respect and admiration of all your colleagues in the House. Like all Members of the House, I am sure, I too am deeply more grateful that you were re-elected quickly than you were elected for the first time in September 1986. I remember getting home just in time for breakfast. But I can say that the long hours spent electing you were worth it!
I must also thank the Hon. Member for Saint-Denis (Mr. Prud'homme) for conducting this election with distinction and poise.
For a while, he seemed to be in no hurry to give up the Chair-but anyway, he did a very good job for us all.

Mr. Speaker, you recited some of the precedents of the House and the words of distinguished Speakers of the British House of Commons and the House of Representatives. You know and we know that it is not just the mastery of the rules of this place that counts- and you, Sir, certainly have that-but it is having a sense of the House, a sense of what is needed. It is because you have that sense of the House, that sense of what is the right thing to do and when to do it, that you have merited our confidence. It is also because of your fairness, your patience, your common sense and, above all, your good humour. Your Honour will not consider this a threat in any way if I were to suggest to you that you are going to need those same qualities, and perhaps in even greater measure in this current Parliament than you exercised them in the past.
December 12, 1988
You are, Sir, above the cut and thrust of partisan politics. You are the guardian of the privileges of every single Member of this House. You are essential to the freedom of expression of the Members of this place who, after all, have been elected by Canadians.
You reflect a tradition of parliamentary democracy carried down through the centuries. As early as 1376 at Westminster the Speaker has been known as an independent representative of the commoners against the King and the nobles. As you have recalled, in early days the Speaker sometimes had a very difficult job in being the people's spokesman to the King.
The scope of your position has evolved tremendously since that day. Your role, one which you have carried out with care and skill, is not to be the servant of the King, but to be the servant of the people, and to act as an impartial referee in our proceedings.
We have the most free Parliament in the world. We have the most open democracy in the world. We have a style of debate and an openness in our Question Period that forces a daily accountability of our Government. You were conscious of that. In spite of the fact that it tests your patience and endurance from time to time, it is worth it-and you know it is worth it. We have confidence that you will persist in that even-handedness which you have demonstrated throughout.

There will be difficult moments. I think that you had some in the last few years. Democracy can sometimes be difficult, especially when ideas and ideals conflict. But I think that with the absolutely impartial and evenhanded way you guide the debates and Question Period, we have made progress. And I am sure that we will make much more progress under your leadership.
We may from time to time disagree with your decisions. We may from time to time put you to the test. We may from time to time be tempted to remind you that you are reverting to the original role of the Speaker and representing the King rather than the people.
As you know, we are very jealous in this place of our rights and privileges. But you have the support and cooperation of every member of my Party on this side of the House. We are very satisfied with your election and I want to wish you continued good fortune in the very important, unique role that you hold in our parliamentary democracy.
December 12, 1988


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Hon. Edward Broadbent (Oshawa):: Mr. Speaker, I join with the Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) and the Right Hon. Leader of the Official Opposition (Mr. Turner) in congratulating you on your re-election as Speaker of the House of Commons.
The reality, as you well know, being the astute man that you are, is that in this vote in which you received a substantial majority of support, indeed the overwhelming majority of support from members of the Conservative Party, the Liberal Party and the New Democratic Party, a higher compliment could hardly be paid to any Canadian in public life.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


John Edward Broadbent: It has already been said, Sir, that you are a servant of the House and not of the King, not certainly of the Government of the day. All Parties participated in the decision that was reached in 1984 to have, for the first time, an elected Speaker. It was a significant and positive step in reform that is another illustration of why, in our hardly unbiased judgment, the Parliament of Canada on balance is the most democratic of all the parliamentary systems that exist on the planet today.
You will recall what was not exactly a sweeping election victory in 1986. We went through 11 ballots in 11 hours. It was a prolonged process, a hotly contested ballot from which you emerged the clear victor. What is so significant this time around is that having had the judgment of your peers, having had the experience of your making decisions, very often tough, difficult decisions, but invariably fair decisions, the men and women who were re-elected in this Parliament plus the new Members of the House who have reflected upon your performance as they witnessed it during your period in office have given you the highest form of compliment, having voted perhaps for the first time on faith, this time voted on the basis of well deserved reputation.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


John Edward Broadbent: Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I would just like to say that in our experience, you are a capable, generous, warm, prudent and fair man, and I have great confidence that in the future you will make decisions as
Speech from the Throne
you have in the past, that is, always fairly, sometimes for the Government, when the Government is right, but also quite often for the opposition Parties!
As I said at the beginning of my remarks, as the Right Hon. Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) and also the Leader of the Official Opposition (Mr. Turner) suggested, all New Democrats have a lot of confidence. You will continue in the future, as in the past, to be an outstanding Speaker in the history of Canada.

I conclude by joining with others in not only wishing you well in the years ahead that you will be serving your peers in this House, but also the members of your family.


Mr. Speaker:: I wish to thank the Right Hon. Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney), the Right Hon. Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Turner), and the Hon. Member for Oshawa (Mr. Broadbent), Leader of the New Democratic Party, for their very kind remarks. I shall keep them all in mind in the coming weeks and months.


SITTING SUSPENDED
Mr. Speaker:: This sitting is suspended until four o'clock p.m., later this day, at which time the House will proceed to the Senate where Her Excellency will open the First Session of the Thirty-fourth Parliament.
At 11.16a.m. the sitting of the House was suspended.


SITTING RESUMED The House resumed at 4 p.m.
[Stage Direction]
Mr. Speaker read a communication from the Secretary to the Governor General announcing that Her Excellency the Governor General would arrive at the Main Entrance of the Parliament Buildings at 3.50 p.m. on this day the 12th of December, 1988, and that when it had been signified that all was in readiness, Her Excellency the Governor General would proceed to the Senate Chamber to open formally the First Session of the Thirty-fourth Parliament of Canada.
[Stage Direction]
December 12, 1988
Speech from the Throne SPEECH FROM THE THRONE
A message was delivered by the Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod as follows:
Mr. Speaker, Her Excellency the Governor General desires the immediate attendance of this honourable House in the Chamber of the Senate.
Accordingly, Mr. Speaker with the House went up to the Senate Chamber.
And the House being returned to the Commons Chamber:
Mr. Speaker:: I have the honour to report that, the House having attended on Her Excellency the Governor General in the Senate Chamber, I informed Her Excellency that the choice of Speaker had fallen upon me.

On your behalf, I made the usual claim for your privileges which Her Excellency was pleased to confirm to you.


OATHS OF OFFICE
Martin Brian Mulroney: for leave to introduce Bill C-l, respecting the administration of oaths of office.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to, Bill read the first time.

Mr. Speaker:: I have the honour to inform the House that when this House did attend Her Excellency the Governor General in the Senate Chamber, Her Excellency was pleased to make a speech to both Houses of Parliament. To prevent mistakes I have obtained a copy which is as follows:
Ladies and gentlemen, Honourable Members of the Senate,
Ladies and gentlemen, Members of the House of Commons:
It is my great pleasure to greet you on this, the first day of the Thirty-fourth Parliament since Confederation. This ceremony is rich in history, custom, tradition and symbolism. It is also a renewal of the vital relationship among Crown, people, parliament and government that, today as in the past, is the essence of Canadian democracy.
The people have spoken in a general election three weeks ago. Their members in the House of Commons have today claimed from the Crown the ancient rights and privileges that enable them to carry out their responsibilities.
In the election, my government sought and received a mandate for its policies, including the Free Trade Agreement between Canada and the United States that is to take effect on January 1, 1989. The purpose of this early session of the Thirty-fourth Parliament is to seek your approval for legislation to implement this Agreement as scheduled. Similar legislation was passed by the House of Commons in August. It had also received approval in principle in the Senate and had reached the stage of Senate committee study, prior to dissolution of the Thirty-third Parliament.
My government is determined to secure the benefits of economic opportunity for this and future generations of Canadians. This Agreement reflects my ministers' confidence in Canada's ability to compete with the best in the world.
In due course, we will hold a second session of the Parliament, at which time my ministers will place before you a statement of policy for this, their second mandate in office. Meanwhile, you may be asked at the present session to consider other matters as deemed advisable by my government.
Ladies and gentlemen, Honourable Members of the Senate,
Ladies and gentlemen, Members of the House of Commons:
December 12, 1988

As you carry out the will of the people and serve the national interest, may Divine Providence be your guide and inspiration.


Martin Brian Mulroney: That the speech of Her Excellency the Governor General,
delivered this day from the Throne to the two Houses of Parliament,
be taken into consideration later this day.


Mr. Speaker:: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt this motion?


Mr. Nelson A. Riis (Kamloops):: Mr. Speaker, there has been a long-standing practice of this House that the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne in fact is given on the day following the Throne Speech by Her Excellency the Governor General. It would seem with this initiative by the Right Hon. Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) today that the Government is obviously making an effort to depart from this practice and is considering the fast tracking of the trade legislation.


Some Hon. Members:: Oh, oh!


Nelson Andrew Riis: I want to say, Mr. Speaker, that the Conservative Government is more interested in a Christmas vacation than in getting on and dealing properly with the legislation that will soon be before us.


Some Hon. Members:: Order.


Ms. Copps:: It is a legitimate debating point.


Nelson Andrew Riis: I want to say that four days after the general election the Hon. Member for Oshawa (Mr. Broadbent) sent a letter to the Prime Minister indicating that the New Democrats had a number of concerns regarding the decision of the Government to proceed so quickly. At that time-


Some Hon. Members:: Oh, oh!


Mr. Speaker:: I would bring it to the attention of all Hon. Members that the Hon. Member for Kamloops has been recognized and has the floor. The Hon. Member.


Nelson Andrew Riis: Mr. Speaker, just four days after the general election the Hon. Member for Oshawa, the Leader of the New Democratic Party, sent a letter to the Prime Minister outlining some serious concerns that New Democrats had regarding the intentions of the Government to proceed so quickly.
Speech from the Throne
At the top of the list was the call for tandem legislation that would go along with this initiative to implement the trade treaty to protect those workers now numbering in the thousands who have lost their jobs as a result of this initiative.


Some Hon. Members:: Oh, oh!


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Nelson Andrew Riis: There was also a request made to the Prime Minister that a committee of the House of Commons, or perhaps even a joint committee, be struck to monitor the implementing legislation as it reacts to the restructuring of the economy of Canada to identify those workers who are adversely affected as a result of the trade deal and to recommend appropriate initiatives by the Government as the case may be.
Second is the whole matter of the shakes and shingles initiative. We were told during the campaign-


Some Hon. Members:: Order.


An Hon. Member:: That is not relevant.


Mr. Speaker:: The Hon. Member for Kamloops has risen in debate and has been recognized but I must ask him to put some containment on his remarks, and I will watch for relevance.


Nelson Andrew Riis: I appreciate that the motion is debatable, Mr. Speaker, and that you will be watching to ensure my comments refer to the motion before us which is to fast track this whole process.
This is only my third term of office, but in 1980 the response to the Throne Speech occurred the day after the Throne Speech debate. In 1984, under a new Prime Minister, again that same practice was followed. We assumed that it would also be followed today to allow Members of Parliament to digest thoroughly-


Some Hon. Members:: Oh, oh!


Nelson Andrew Riis: -the comments made by the Governor General.


Some Hon. Members:: Oh, oh!


Nelson Andrew Riis: In closing, Mr. Speaker-


An Hon. Member:: You must have missed the election.


Mr. Speaker:: I am sure the Hon. Member for Kamloops is just about ready to conclude his remarks.

December 12, 1988
Speech from the Throne


Nelson Andrew Riis: Yes, Mr. Speaker, I am nearly at the end of my remarks.


Mr. Gauthier:: Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order.


Mr. Speaker:: The Hon. Member for Ottawa-Vanier is rising on a point of order.


Jean-Robert Gauthier: I would ask the Chair to read the motion now under consideration.


Mr. Speaker:: Perhaps I can assist the Hon. Member. The motion-and I think the Hon. Member will know why I made some reference to relevance-is that the speech of Her Excellency, delivered this day from the Throne to both Houses of Parliament, be taken into consideration later this day.


Jean-Robert Gauthier: Later this day. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.


Nelson Andrew Riis: Mr. Speaker, I want to conclude my remarks by indicating clearly that a number of concerns were registered.
The initiative now that the Government has failed to take in terms of protecting the Wheat Board, the whole matter of the shakes and shingles issue, the fact that the Americans have taken this initiative and that there has been virtually no response from the Government in reacting to that very punitive tariff have encouraged my Leader to proceed and ask for a response from the Right Hon. Prime Minister on what else the Government plans to do regarding the trade initiative.


Mr. Clark (Yellowhead):: Where is Bob White?


Nelson Andrew Riis: In closing, Mr. Speaker, we were hoping for some more detailed response from the Prime Minister before we began the debate in reply to the Throne Speech, but in light of the traditions of the House we will wrap up the debate at this time and proceed to the vote.


Mr. Speaker:: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?


Some Hon. Members:: Agreed.


Some Hon. Members:: No.


Mr. Speaker:: All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.


Some Hon. Members:: Yea.


Mr. Speaker:: All those opposed to the motion will please say nay.


Some Hon. Members:: Nay.


Mr. Speaker:: In my opinion the yeas have it.
And more than five Members having risen:


Mr. Speaker:: Call in the Members.


Mr. Speaker:: I declare the motion carried.
* *
*


WAYS AND MEANS
Hon. John C. Crosbie (Minister for International Trade):: Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 83(1), I have the honour to lay upon the table copies of a Ways and Means Motion to implement the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement.
Pursuant to the provisions of Standing Order 83(2), I ask that an Order of the Day be designated for the consideration of the said motion.


Mr. Speaker:: In view of the matter I must now raise, I might ask Hon. Members to honour what is not the happiest event of today.


VACANCY
Mr. Speaker:: I have the honour to inform the House that I have received communications notifying me that a vacancy has occurred in the representation, namely, John Dahmer, Esquire, Member for the electoral district of Beaver River, by decease. Accordingly, I have addressed my warrant to the Chief Electoral Officer for the issue of a new Writ of Election for the said electoral district.
* *
*


THE LATE JOHN DAHMER
Hon. Don Mazankowski (Deputy Prime Minister, President of the Privy Council and Minister of Agriculture):: Mr. Speaker, I rise today with great personal sadness to ask the House to pay tribute to a man whose untimely passing has prevented him from taking his rightful place here in this House as a Member of Parliament.
John Dahmer was the Member elect from Beaver River. He had a life-long record of public service. His ultimate dream was to serve his country as a Member of Parliament. On November 21, the electors of Beaver River gave him that honour.
Unfortunately, bone marrow cancer has taken John Dahmer from us before he was able to make his own special contribution to this very distinguished place. On behalf of the Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) and his family, my colleagues, and I am sure all Members of the House, I wish to extend heartfelt sympathies and deepest condolences to John's wife Donna, his children, family, and friends. They will all miss him more than words can say.

December 12, 1988
House of Commons
I knew John Dahmer as a fellow politician, as a concerned citizen, and as a friend. For many years he was active in all levels of politics, always learning, sharing, and contributing. He was committed, dedicated, and energetic. I know that he would have been a distinguished and respected parliamentarian.
Today, Mr. Speaker, the opening of a new session of Parliament, is a day filled with excitement, anticipation, and commitment for all Members, new and returning. This is my seventh such occasion and I share the dedication and resolution that fill all of us in this Chamber. I sense as well the keenness and energy of those who are here for the first time. Knowing John Dahmer, I can attest that his enthusiasm and energy today would have been boundless. He would have taken his place with pride and with an unrelenting dedication.
We will miss him bodily, Mr. Speaker, but his spirit, his sense of service and responsibility will live on in all of us throughout this Thirty-fourth Parliament. To his family and his friends, I offer again on behalf of the House our heartfelt sympathies and our deepest regrets that he is not with us here today.


Mr. Lloyd Axworthy (Winnipeg South Centre):: Mr. Speaker, as the Deputy Prime Minister has said, this is a very special day. All Members of this House, especially new Members, have walked into this Chamber with a sense of the pride and accomplishment of the election and a sense of the deep honour given to them by their electorate to serve this country in a public way. We share the sentiments of the Deputy Prime Minister that the untimely death of one of those who was duly elected by a constituency of Alberta has prevented him from sharing in the sense of honour and privilege that we all enjoy.
I had the occasion during the last election campaign to spend some time in the constituency of Beaver River. I know Mr. Dahmer was highly regarded by his constituents and can certainly testify to the record of accomplishment brought forward as part of his election campaign.
I also associate myself with the remarks of the Deputy Prime Minister in saying that we will not have the opportunity to enjoy the special contribution Mr. Dahmer might have brought, both in terms of his experience and in terms of representing that very important riding in western Canada.
On behalf of our group, especially the Members who come from the West and from the North, we want to express our sentiments as well to Mr. Dahmer's family and to say that we deeply regret his passing, that he cannot be here with us to share this very important day for which we know he fought and longed. We know he would have provided a great service to this country.


Nelson Andrew Riis: Mr. Speaker, those of us who knew of the reputation of John Dahmer were saddened when we received the news that he had passed away. We recognized, from comments that his son made, that he was an extremely compassionate man throughout his entire life and that his lifetime goal was to enter the Parliament of Canada. We are pleased that he at least achieved that goal, but I must say that we regretted hearing the news.
On behalf of my colleagues in the New Democratic Party, we extend our deepest regrets to his wife, his family, and his friends.


Mr. Speaker:: I would ask Hon. Members to stand for an appropriate period of silence.
[Editor's Note: Whereupon the House stood in silence for one minute.]


APPOINTMENT OF INTERNAL ECONOMY COMMISSIONERS
Mr. Speaker:: I have the honour to inform the House that the Hon. Donald Frank Mazankowski, the Hon. Douglas Grinslade Lewis, the Hon. Herb Gray, John-Robert Gauthier and Nelson Riis have been appointed as members of the Board of Internal Economy for the purposes and under the provisions of Chapter 42, First Supplement, of the Revised Statutes of Canada, 1985, entitled an Act to Amend the Parliament of Canada Act.


APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEES OF THE WHOLE
Martin Brian Mulroney: Mr. Speaker, I move:
December 12, 1988

That Mr. Marcel Danis, Member for the electoral district of Vercheres, be appointed as Chairman of the Committees of the Whole House.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

Martin Brian Mulroney: Mr. Speaker, I move:
That Hon. Steven Paproski, Member for the Electoral District of Edmonton North, be appointed Deputy Chairman of Committees of the Whole House.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.

Martin Brian Mulroney: Mr. Speaker, I move:
That Hon. Andree Champagne, Member for the electoral district of Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, be appointed Assistant Deputy Chairperson of Committees of the Whole House.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.
Hon. Doug Lewis (Minister of State and Minister of State (Treasury Board) and Acting President of the Treasury Board):: Mr. Speaker, 1 move in accordance with Standing Order 81:
That this House at its next sitting consider the business of supply. Motion agreed to.


SPEECH FROM THE THRONE
[Stage Direction]
The House proceeded to the consideration of the Speech delivered by Her Excellency the Governor General at the opening of the session.
Ms. Kim Campbell (Vancouver Centre):: Mr. Speaker, I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to rise in this House today to move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Langelier (Mr. Loiselle), the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne. On behalf of the constituents of Vancouver Centre, I would like to thank the Right Hon. Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) and the
The Address-Ms. Kim Campbell
Government for honouring Vancouver Centre in this way.
Before I begin, however, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate you, Mr. Speaker, on your reelection as Speaker of this House. I know the Members of this House will not think me parochial when I say on behalf of all Vancouverites and all British Columbians how proud we are of you, Mr. Speaker, and your contribution to this House over many years.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


A. Kim Campbell: In all the areas in which you have excelled, none has been a better showcase for the full range of your qualities as a person than has your tenure as Speaker of the House of Commons. Your warmth and caring have been reflected in your approach to the administrative as well as the ceremonial aspects of your position. A keen intellect has enabled you to master an enormous volume of law and precedent and apply it with fairness and insight. You are forwardlooking in managing the business of Parliament but you have a deep reverence and respect for the history and custom without which this instrument of democracy cannot survive.
For all these reasons, Mr. Speaker, you have been freely chosen by your colleagues in this House to assume the vital role of Speaker. Your accomplishments are your own, but all British Columbians take pride in the recognition of such excellence in one of their own.
My constituency of Vancouver Centre is aptly named, including as it does the downtown core of the City of Vancouver. Much of what symbolizes Vancouver for visitors can be found in Vancouver Centre: miles of sandy beaches, Stanley Park, the Granville Island Market, and much of the site of Expo '86.
The west end, one of the most densely populated areas in North America, is an example of urban downtown living at its best, combining the privacy of big city life with the intimacy of small communities. Across the water by any of three bridges are the varied neighbourhoods of West Point Grey, Kitsilano, South Granville, False Creek, Fairview, and Mount Pleasant.

Because of changes to its electoral boundaries, the Vancouver Centre riding has lost its picturesque Chinese quarter, while preserving major parts of its Greek and French communities. As a whole, Vancouver Centre reflects rather closely the diversity of all the Metropolitan Vancouver regions, a rich diversity which expresses itself in many ways.

December 12, 1988
The Address-Ms. Kim Campbell

Vancouver Centre is the major business area of the city. Thousands of small businesses as well as many professional and corporate offices make Vancouver Centre an important area of employment. In addition, two great hospitals, St. Paul's and Vancouver General, are focal points for a large health care sector. Many arts and cultural organizations are headquartered in Vancouver Centre where theatres and galleries abound.
Vancouver prides itself on being Canada's gateway to the Pacific. In 1979, the Progressive Conservative Government established the Asia-Pacific initiative which has continued to play a leading role in fostering Vancouver's and Canada's pacific role. My predecessor as Member for Vancouver Centre, the Hon. Pat Carney, made dramatic advances in Canada's trade with Asia during her tenure as Minister for International Trade. Our Government has continued this thrust and has supported Vancouver's efforts to play a key role here through many initiatives including the establishment of Vancouver as an international banking centre.
Vancouver Centre is the commercial heart not only of the city but of the province. In no other area is the economic interdependence of all areas of British Columbia so clearly illustrated. Much of the wealth that builds the skyscrapers of downtown Vancouver and employs an enormous service sector there is earned in the hinterlands and small communities of our province. The people who live and work in Vancouver Centre know full well the precarious position of all in an undiversified, resource based economy. Vancouver Centre is the economic pulse of the Province of British Columbia.
From October, 1986, to October 1988,1 served as as a Member of the British Columbia Legislature, during which time I travelled to all parts of the province.
I have come to have a deep appreciation of the energy and creativity in my province. I have come to see how often the economic aspirations of British Columbians have been thwarted by the lack of access to a large regional market. Like other British Columbians I have watched with dismay as many of our most creative and productive people have moved to Toronto or to the United States in order to find a market large enough to sustain their enterprise.
I have seen how a policy of tariff escalation in the United States has prevented the growth of value added
industries in our resource based economies. As a former chairman of the Vancouver School Board I have seen how directly a recession that reduces public revenues affects the ability of a society to support its commitment to our young people without mortgaging their future.
The decision to run in this past election was enormously difficult for me requiring as it did that I resign my legislative seat. But I could not in the end stand by and watch the destruction of an agreement which would do so much to address the economic and social concerns that are so important to me.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


A. Kim Campbell: How can Vancouver retain its creativity and vitality without secure access to a large market? How can Canadian industries compete internationally from a protectionist base which discourages the qualities of efficiency so necessary to international competitiveness? Mr. Speaker, how can Canada continue to be a caring society and invest in its future human capital without a vibrant and diversified economy capable of paying the bill?
In the course of the recent debate about the free trade agreement, reference was made to the history of Canada and the supposed threat posed by the free trade agreement to the sanctity of that history. The vision of Canadian history reflected in this argument is a rather partial and myopic one. There is much in the 120-year history of our country which has engendered a deep-seated sense of grievance in the regions of Canada. No one who has studied the political history of Canada can be unaware of the profound impact that western resentment of the tariff policy has had on that history. The word "progressive" in Progressive Conservative was added when John Bracken-leader of the Progressive Party, an advocate of low tariffs-became the Conservative Leader.
British Columbia's grievances with respect to tariff policy result from two factors. First, the high tariffs on American imports to protect Canadian industries impose serious costs on British Columbia. That cost is estimated at S5.7 billion over the past 20 years alone.
Second, negotiations by Canadian Governments with the United States to reduce American tariffs have focused upon raw resources but left the tariff escalation on value added production in place. In British Columbia with a tiny domestic market, these barriers seriously limit the opportunity for diversification of the resource economy through value added production.
December 12, 1988

For example, our unprocessed zinc can pass into the United States with a 1 per cent tariff, but a zinc alloy incurs a tariff of 19 per cent. This phenomenon is not confined to British Columbia. On both coasts tariffs have made the development of a processed fish industry uneconomic.
It has been said in the free trade debate that since 1935 tariffs between Canada and the United States have been reduced by such an amount that 80 per cent of our trade is tariff free. Why then, it is asked, such a fuss over the remaining 20 per cent? Why indeed? Because the statistic itself is meaningless. The actual tariff free figure is 72 per cent and it refers to the existing volume of trade. It cannot reflect trade that might have occurred but for tariff barriers. Furthermore, if trade in automobiles and auto parts is removed from the equation, the figures for the remaining trade are very different. Of the remaining trade, only 58 per cent is tariff free. Forty-two per cent, almost half, incurs tariffs. Thus the auto pact area of southern Ontario enjoys the benefits of what the Leader of the New Democratic Party has referred to as the "continental market force" but the regions of Canada struggle with tariff barriers which distort their economic development.
The free trade agreement addresses the single most significant historical grievance of British Columbia in Confederation. The free trade agreement democratizes the Canadian economy by giving to the regions what central Canadian industries have long enjoyed, access to a significant regional market.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


A. Kim Campbell: Not only has the free trade agreement addressed the regional grievance but it has been sought by the business community in all parts of the country. Canadian businesses, large and small, have recognized that the American market can be their springboard to competitiveness on an international standard. Both the manufacturing and the service sectors have realized that the path to greater prosperity lies in removing the training wheels of protectionism.
Make no mistake, protectionism has distorted our economy to the detriment of all Canadians. In protected industries the incentives to modernize plants and engage in research and development are greatly reduced. Grantsmanship and lobbying replace entrepreneurship and good management as industries come to rely on subsidies and tariffs to compensate for an inadequate domestic market. Protectionism exaggerates the comparative advantage of the highly populated core and discriminates against the less populated regions.
The Address-Ms. Kim Campbell
Over the past five years there has been an alarming flow of corporate headquarters from Vancouver, Winnipeg, Halifax and from other regional centres to Toronto. With a population of three million-less than the population of greater Toronto-how can British Columbia hope to reverse this trend toward the centralization of the Canadian economy unless it can offer businesses a market equivalent to that of central Canada?
But it is not just our economy which is harmed by protectionism. Protectionism poses serious risks to the health of the Canadian body politic. Not only is it a major contributor to regional economic disparity, but in the ensuing competition for government spending to alleviate the effects, the sparsely populated regions cannot carry the clout of the highly populated core. From this comes the perception in the regions that they are not getting their fair share. Resentment of economic disparities feeds a sense of political impotence which spills over into other areas. Issues such as language and Senate reform come to bear an emotional colouring unrelated to their merit, a colouring derived from the deeper more fundamental problem.

Our trade with the United States has increased by 80 per cent over the past twenty years, and we have been exposed over the same period to an ever increasing volume of feature films, televised programs, music and books from that country. In spite of that, our feeling of Canadian identity has not been reduced. Quite the contrary. It is even stronger today.
As a matter of fact, over the past ten years, the production of books by Canadian authors has increased by 500 per cent. A great many of our most appreciated social programs have been implemented during the last twenty years.
Our self-knowledge and self-confidence increase as our foreign trade grows.

No one can define himself in a vacuum, Mr. Speaker.
In Canada we have learned to balance the onslaught of American culture with our own reality. It is that ability to balance which is one of the chief characteristics of Canadians, which is why, perhaps, a Canadian has been defined as someone who can make love in a canoe.

December 12, 1988
Address-Mr. Loiselle
The greatest threat to the survival of Canada as a nation is not trade with the United States. The greatest threat to our national survival is the perception in the regions of Canada that the cost of Confederation is too high. The free trade agreement does more for regional development in Canada than any policy in our history. The time has come to tear down the tariff walls which have kept our regional economies in tutelage. It is time for the forest products of British Columbia and Quebec, the minerals of northern Ontario, Alberta's gas and petroleum, and maritime fish to enter the United States in value added form.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


A. Kim Campbell: It is time for Newfoundlanders and Nova Scotians to have the dignity of secure year-round employment. The distinctive cultures of the Maritimes are not at risk, and there is nothing quaint about poverty.
I came to Parliament to speak strongly for Vancouver Centre and British Columbia. But I do not advocate the prosperity of British Columbia at the expense of Ontario or Quebec or any other part of Canada. As the Prime Minister has so often said, Governments do not create wealth, people do. And if Governments provide the climate, there will be new prosperity in British Columbia and Canada. I want a Canada where all regions have a chance to grow and blossom, where no regional grievances threaten to unravel the national fabric.
Since 1984 the Progressive Conservative Government has been a Government of national reconciliation, but national reconciliation must include economic justice for all regions. We cannot be a caring society if our purse is empty. We cannot be magnanimous to the aspirations of all Canadians if we feel aggrieved. We cannot embark upon the federal-provincial co-operation which is essential to deal with issues of the environment, education, and the economy if we are divided by a simmering sense of injustice.
Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support the free trade agreement, and I am proud to move the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


A. Kim Campbell: I move, seconded by the Hon. Member for Langelier, that the following
Address be presented to Her Excellency the Governor General of Canada:
To Her Excellency the Right Hon. Jeanne Sauve, a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Canada, Chancellor and Commander of the Order of Military Merit, upon whom has been conferred the Canadian Forces' Decoration, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.
May it please Your Excellency:
We, Her Majesty's most loyal and dutiful subjects, the House of Commons of Canada, in Parliament assembled, beg leave to offer our humble thanks to Your Excellency for the gracious speech which Your Excellency has addressed to both Houses of Parliament.


Gilles Loiselle: Mr. Speaker, I would first like to congratulate you on your election. You have earned the confidence and the respect of all those who have sat under your chairmanship and I know all the new Members join me in assuring you of our complete co-operation.
Mr. Speaker, I am well aware that, by asking me to support the Address in reply to the Speech from the Throne, the Prime Minister (Mr. Mulroney) wanted to honour the population of the riding of Langelier.
It is also symbolic that the Member from Langelier should be asked to support the Address in reply to a speech which invites all Canadians to give their country a new impetus on the road to social and economic progress.
Indeed, under various names, the riding I represent has witnessed all the great events which have marked the building of this country and has often been associated with them. It is therefore perhaps natural that Langelier should be called upon to intervene when we are about to turn a page in our history.
It is worth noting, Mr. Speaker, that Langelier is in the historic city of Quebec and therefore the cradle of Canada and of much of America. It has witnessed 450 years of our history. Not only was the country founded there, but the great discoverers who opened up a whole continent used it as their base.
As a privileged keeper of our collective memory, the population of Quebec city and of Langelier, where the first Parliament of the province of Canada was established, is profoundly conscious of the place it occupies in this country, which has, with the passing decades, emancipated itself and become a modern, independent and forward-looking country.
December 12, 1988

We saw quite clearly, in the way the people of Quebec participated in the national debate on the major economic issue of the recent campaign, to what extent the whole of Quebec shares in the confidence we have in our capacity to meet the new challenges involved in the globalization of trade. Massively, Quebeckers joined millions of Canadians who felt free trade is the assertion of the national will to open out rather than shutting ourselves in, of self-confidence rather than fear of new horizons.
Many fellow citizens, subjected for months to the whole gamut of arguments and counter arguments dealing with free trade had an opportunity to ask themselves whether that deal should go through. But in the final analysis, at the conclusion of a campaign centered on free trade, Canadians trusted a party that embodied and still embodies free trade. Under our system of parliamentary democracy, the mandate received by this Government on that matter could not be more decisive.
The question was debated in the widest possible forum, that of a general election, and the issue was settled by the electorate. It is now incumbent upon us to ratify an agreement that we invite all Canadians to support in order that, from the day it comes into force, it may be as productive as possible, to the benefit of all groups in our society, in every area of the country.
On the eve of the 21st century, with the advent of the large trading blocks which are being formed today, this country, largely dependent on external trade for its growth and welfare, is in vital need of economic space. Such space is available with the free trade agreement, providing us as it does with the widest possible access to the American market, the most sought-after market in the world.
In that respect, free trade is the only solution within immediate reach that meets our aspirations for sustained growth. In a sense, it is also the key to doing business with the rest of the world, to the extent that safe access to the various American markets will provide our businesses with economies of scale that often cannot be derived from Canadian sales, thereby putting them in a better position to successfully meet international competition on all other markets.
Those who over these last 20 years have been closely watching the extraordinary bloom of entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership among Canadian businesses both in the industrial and manufacturing sector and in
Address-Mr. Loiselle
the area of services know full well we can now contemplate without any fears, doubts or reservations a free trade agreement with the United States.
What is in store is not only increased exports but also increased investments and, more generally, increased economic activity. This Agreement will benefit workers and consumers as a whole by creating jobs and increasing purchasing power.
The Agreement we are about to sign does not threaten in any way, directly or indirectly, our sovereignty. On the contrary, it specifically preserves political institutions as well as constitutional rules and regulations of each country in addition to guaranteeing full respect of the Canadian cultural identity, our way of life and our long-standing tradition of social justice.
Mr. Speaker, I will go so far as saying that the lack of an agreement would be more threatening to our sovereignty than a contract between two partners seeking together the best way to co-operate while respecting each other.

I would not want to conclude my remarks without a word on a most important issue for Quebec as well as for Canada. I am referring, of course, to the necessary reinsertion of Quebec within the Canadian constitutional family.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


Gilles Loiselle: Under the leadership of our Prime Minister the agreement that has been reached at Meech Lake represents a unique achievement in the process of national reconciliation, and probably the opportunity of this century for our country to put to rest decades of confrontation and quarrels that have mobilized the country's time and energy.
The Meech Lake Accord sets the foundation for a new and stimulating era in which Canadians, freed from counter-productive and divisive constitutional dead ends, can start building the future. The opportunity is here now. It cannot, it must not be missed.
My very deep conviction is that the conditions and circumstances which resulted in the Meech Lake consensus and the following multipartite support of Parliament and of eight Legislative Assemblies are of a rare nature. That is why I remain confident that when all is said and done the superior interests of the country and its people will carry the day.

December 12, 1988
Privilege-Mr. Thacker

The Meech Lake Accord, Mr. Speaker, is a precious token of Canadians' and Quebeckers' will to work together to build a common future with dignity and honor while respecting Quebec's distinctiveness. We cannot and must not miss this historical opportunity.
Mr. Speaker, I wholeheartedly support the proposal of the Hon. Member for Vancouver Centre (Ms. Campbell) relating to the Address in reply to the Speech from the Throne.


Some Hon. Members:: Hear, hear!


John Napier Turner: Mr. Speaker, I would be prepared to continue now but in order to make it easier for yourself and the Speaker of the Senate, I move that the House do now adjourn.


Jean-Robert Gauthier: I rise on a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Maybe the Minister is going to say what I anticipated, but I just want to ask the Government House Leader if he could tell us what we will be dealing with tomorrow. Is he going to designate tomorrow as continuing debate on the Throne Speech?


Douglas Grinslade Lewis: Mr. Speaker, we will be calling the vote on the Ways and Means Motion tomorrow as the first order of business. I have suggested in a letter to the Chair, with copies to my colleagues in the opposition benches, that the House may wish to take up the procedural debate on a Notice of Motion which has been filed with the Table.


Jean-Robert Gauthier: Mr. Speaker, I must tell the Government House Leader that we have no notice of any letter from him today. I shall reserve on that point.


Mr. Speaker:: I should advise the House that I have received notice of a question of privilege from the Hon. Member for Lethbridge (Mr. Thacker). I am prepared to hear at least some opening remarks. If it is going to be very lengthy it might be more appropriate for the Hon. Member to adjourn it until tomorrow.
I want, however, to be very clear to all Hon. Members that a question of privilege is just that and it receives precedence here.


PRIVILEGE
Mr. Blaine A. Thacker (Lethbridge):: Mr. Speaker, a question of privilege has to be raised at the earliest moment, and in this case it relates to the actions of the green buses. I can assure Hon. Members that for urgent family reasons it was impossible for me to be here until five o'clock. I then caught a taxi in. Immediately upon reaching the Confederation Building the bells were ringing. I went to the green buses, but due to the traffic jam the bus was unable to get through.
I believe that establishes a prima facie case. I would suggest a reference to the standing committee because I am sure there are ways that security guards at this time of the day could be directing traffic. In view of the fact there is a more balanced number of Members in the House, I believe this may well be a problem and it should be looked at and solved instantly.


Mr. Speaker:: I thank the Hon. Member for raising the matter. Clearly the Hon. Member has some support. I will consider the matter with care and report back to the House at the earliest convenience.


Jean-Robert Gauthier: Mr. Speaker, maybe we can put this off until tomorrow and you can hear us on this point. I think there is a question of privilege here that could be of some importance to Members of the House.


Mr. Speaker:: I will certainly accept the Hon. Member's suggestion.


Donald Frank Mazankowski: Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.


Mr. Speaker:: Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?


Some Hon. Members:: Agreed.


[Stage Direction]
Motion agreed to.
December 12, 1988
[Stage Direction]
Privilege-Mr. Thacker
Mr. Speaker:: This House stands adjourned until On motion of Mr. Mazankowski, the House tomorrow at 11 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). adjourned at 6.15 p.m.

Tuesday, December 13, 1988