Mr. Speaker, last night the people of Quebec demanded change from the federal government, sweeping change which has already been advocated by the Reform Party. By resisting change the rigid centralists of the Liberal Party brought this country to the brink of destruction.
Change must come and when it does, the government must deal with each province as an equal partner in Confederation. Whatever is offered to one province must be offered to all. The government may be tempted to grant special status to one province to retain a share of its traditional power, but the lesson we learned last night is this: If the federal government continues to clutch the power to its breast, it will lose the federation.
Only the broad devolution of powers to all provinces on an equal basis will allow us to address the concerns of the different regions of the country. In order that Canada can continue to prosper, the socialist dream of this overwhelming and intrusive central government must be permanently laid to rest.
Reformers will oppose special rights to any province because unity is based on equality.