Mr. Speaker, yesterday certain Bloc members spoke in this House in an attempt to have us believe that francophones outside Quebec would be better protected by a sovereign Quebec. The hon. member for Rimouski-Témiscouata stated: "The status quo is untenable for the survival and development of the French fact in North America; only a sovereign Quebec can enable us to work toward this".
I feel it is appropriate to remind the official opposition, along with the hundreds of thousands of francophones outside Quebec, that one of the first decisions taken by the Parti Quebecois after its election was to close Quebec's office in Edmonton. According to the PQ minister the reason for this decision was financial. On October 30, Quebecers will not abandon francophones outside Quebec, and that is why they will vote no.