Mr. Speaker, I advise the House that I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Kindersley-Lloydminster.
It gives me pleasure as a loyal Canadian to rise in the House today to speak to Bill C-110. It is a privilege to stand in the Chamber to outline the reasons I oppose the bill. As someone who was not present as a member of the House when the previous Parliament debated the Meech and Charlottetown initiatives, I nonetheless have an eerie feeling of déjà vu. If the legislation were some grade B horror movie they could very well have called it "Son of Meech".
I must preface my opposition to the bill by noting an old saying I have heard several times in the House: those who do not learn from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them. History, or so it would appear, is not a subject with which the framers of the legislation are even remotely acquainted. Those historical remarks come very close to describing the thoughts of all Canadians on the bill.
I listened to the Prime Minister yesterday and I looked at the bill before the House today. I cannot help but ask myself if the Liberal government has not learned anything in 30 years of constitutional wrangling. The answer would clearly appear to be a resounding no. This would be much the same response Canadians everywhere would give to this package if, and it is a big if, they could be given a say in its acceptance or rejection.
The bill does not give the power of veto to the people. It is the very worst kind of top down decision making because it gives the final say to politicians. To this I ask again if hon. members on the other side have learned nothing. Worse yet, this initiative along with the motion tabled in the House yesterday is an action born out of desperation. It is the worst example of so-called leadership we have seen in recent memory.
Without consulting his caucus, the unity committee, the premiers or the Canadian people, Mr. Chrétien has unilaterally offered further appeasement to Quebec separatists.