Mr. Speaker, the proposal which is reflected in the veto bill, to be tabled later today, comes very close to what was known as the Victoria formula of 1971, an approach favoured by the province of British Columbia.
Under the Constitution at present, in the absence of the legislation we will table today, it will be possible for constitutional change to take place under Section 38 of the Constitution Act, notwithstanding that it was opposed by British Columbia and two other western provinces, even if they comprised more than 50 per cent of the population of the west.
This bill will make it impossible for that to occur.