Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the chairman of the Mouvement Desjardins, Mr. Claude Béland, urged Quebecers to actively participate in the referendum campaign and support Quebec's sovereignty.
The Mouvement Desjardins is a vast network of co-operatives, financial institutions and insurance companies with assets totalling $75 billion. It has played an active role in the economic and social development of Quebec throughout the 20th century.
Mr. Béland is now inviting Quebecers to get out of the current deadlock. He said: "We merely tried to negotiate the concept of a distinct society and we were rebuffed. The same thing is now happening with the issue of occupational training".
The current deadlock means that Quebecers have to choose between taking control of their own destiny or an unaffordable status quo.