Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to know what kind of negotiations they have in mind, because when the Leader of the Opposition is on the hustings, at one point like yesterday, for instance, in the morning he was all for sovereignty without association or without a partnership, while that afternoon and evening it was not the same message.
It is clear, and this bears repeating, that when in Quebec they say that, after Quebec separates, there will be a new structure in which Quebec will have exactly the same number of representatives as the rest of Canada, which represents three times as many people, the rest of Canada will never go along with that. This is like suggesting that in the parliament of an independent Quebec, just because Quebec City is the capital, it should have the same number of members as Montreal.
In a democracy every person counts. If there is to be a Canadian structure, it must respect the democratic principle according to which members are elected in their respective ridings, while the Canadian constitution provides for a minimum level of representation for the smaller provinces like Prince Edward Island, which is protected in the constitution.
However, when someone claims, in referring to the issue of a future partnership, that the rest of Canada will have a parliament with the same number of members as Quebec, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in referring to this, says that is out of the question, this is exactly what the provincial premiers have said. Anyone who is the least bit realistic, is not a magician and really wants to face the facts will have no problem understanding this.