I have a logical mind and I like to respect everyone's roles, including our roles as members of Parliament. We had an act to pass and we passed it.
Today, we are appearing before a committee that ordinarily makes minor rather than major changes. Certainly the status quo would have been ideal. However, knowing that the ridings on Montreal Island had to be redistributed, the commissioners did their job.
Of course we would have liked to retain the status quo in eastern Quebec, because everyone told us the same thing on that subject. Opinion was unanimous. However, I am not a dreamer. I have a logical mind, and, I would reiterate, the commissioners have a job to do. Their role is not to change the law; it is to apply it.
We would have liked the law to be different. However, being an optimist by nature, I believe we will have the next ten years to make sure the next electoral map is different and is designed on the basis of a new act, to be organized around the people who live in the regions of Canada.