Mr. Speaker, yesterday, in an apocalyptic speech to Quebec's industrial commissioners, the finance minister predicted one million jobs would be lost the day after a win by the Yes side, thus upsetting a number of people in the audience, who obviously felt uncomfortable with these outlandish claims. The minister added that according to him, it was a conservative estimate and that it might even be more than one million.
My question is directed to the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs. Would such farfetched statements not seriously compromise the credibility of the finance minister and are they not a definite indication that panic has struck the federal side?