Mr. Speaker, I welcome the opportunity today to speak to Bill C-110 which deals with the regional veto.
First, we can say that this year, which is now drawing to a close, was the year of the referendum on the future of Quebec. In fact, on October 30, nearly 94 per cent of registered voters exercised their right to vote. It was an exemplary and laudable exercise in democracy. In this referendum, 50.6 per cent of the population of Quebec said no to the sovereignty and partnership proposal of the Quebec government.
We accept the outcome, although the margin was very narrow, because we always said, unlike Jean Chrétien, that we would abide by the verdict-