Of course the Prime Minister has discussed this with the premiers, and various ministers of the government do so on an ongoing basis. The positions of most of the provinces are quite well known, as I said, with the exception of some where there were recent changes. B.C. would rather abolish than reform the Senate. It's not a high priority, but that's their official position. Again, as Mr. Hill suggested, that is a change from what was the position when they had a law in the books.
This is one of the problems. We talked earlier about the Charlottetown accord and the difficulties you have achieving that kind of consensus. I can't help but conclude that those who say we have to take the smallest tiny change and subject it to a constitutional process are doing anything other than seeking excuses not to reform and modernize the Senate.
There is a bill put forward by a Liberal senator, right now in the Senate, that seeks to change the membership qualifications for the Senate, which is a change to something laid out in the Constitution. I'm unaware that anybody has engaged in any form of consultation on that. If it's the position of the Liberal Party that this bill cannot go forward until there's been a first ministers conference and agreement of the provinces and a 7/50 formula, then you should talk to your colleague over at the Senate about that bill. That bill, being pursued by a Liberal, is being done on the exact same basis as this bill.