Madam Speaker, first of all, I want to congratulate the member opposite for the speech he gave as a francophone outside Quebec. We in the Bloc are always moved when we discuss this issue with our colleagues opposite.
The previous speaker's question was just as emotional: “Why would Quebeckers want to leave Canada, a country as beautiful and great as our ambitions? We can be Canadian any way we want.” That is what he said in his speech. We do not have anything against francophones outside Quebec. We love them too. But the hon. member forgot to mention that Canada was founded by two peoples, the two founding nations as they are called in Canadian history books. These two peoples each had their own territory, one was called Upper Canada, the other one, Lower Canada, and they have become Quebec and Ontario.
That was the beginning of the famous 1867 Confederation. After that, more people joined Canada, and the last province to join was Newfoundland. I hold no grudge against them, but they had two referendums and joined Canada after the third one. This decision was made by Newfoundlanders. I do not think my father ever told me Quebeckers were consulted in 1949 on the admission of a new province. The question that begs to be asked today is this: Why should the rest of Canada be consulted today if Quebec wants to separate and go back to the situation before it entered into an association with Upper Canada, which is now Ontario?
Why should Quebec want to separate from Canada? That was the member's heartfelt cry. Maybe because we do not feel a lot of respect, maybe because we want things we cannot get within Canada.
My question to the member opposite is this: Why did his government choose Plan B, which focuses on repression? “If you do this, you will get a slap on the wrist.” In more polite terms, the reference to the Supreme Court tells us: “We are going to ask a few questions, and the way they are asked, it all means the same thing.” For some of us, the questions as phrased call for a certain kind of answer.
Let me ask the hon. member why his government or the people in his party are not looking for ways to keep Quebec in Canada. During the last referendum, the Prime Minister made promises in Verdun. What are they? Are they reason enough for Quebeckers to stay? Instead of wasting their energy looking for legal tricks to force us to stay in Canada, they should look for real solutions. If they do not have any, Quebeckers will stay on the same track, and I can assure my hon. colleague I will make an excellent neighbour.