Madam Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak on behalf of the people of Okanagan-Similkameen-Merritt and oppose Bill C-110, an act respecting constitutional amendments.
My constituents are proud and eager to have me rise on their behalf to express the anger, outrage and fury over the insult which the Prime Minister and the Liberal Party of Canada have hurled at the Canadian people. The anger, outrage and fury is over the fact that Canadians do not think the federal government's power to veto constitutional changes should be delegated to provincial legislatures. The power to reject or ratify changes to the country's Constitution should be given to only one body, and that body should be the people of Canada. Over and over we on this side of the House and in the ranks of the Bloc Quebecois heard the members of Parliament from western Canada and Quebec yelling at the Liberals to listen to the people. The Liberals just do not listen.
The people of British Columbia, where I come from, are insulted by the antics of the Liberal Party under the dictatorship of the Prime Minister. One morning we wake up and find out that B.C. has not been given the power of veto like the other provinces by the Liberal Prime Minister. This comes right out of the blue. My constituency telephone was ringing off the wall. The mail and fax machine were working overtime and the people were asking what was going on.
Then the Liberals start talking about four regions versus five regions. They are trying to convince Canadians how great a thing a veto is. The Liberals hope Canadians would not understand and the Liberals could hide the fact that they were not giving the people of Canada anything, nothing, zero.
The Liberal Prime Minister became afraid of the people of B.C. like he is afraid of the people of Quebec and so another morning comes along. My constituents wake up and discover the Liberal Prime Minister from Quebec has given B.C. a veto. But it is too late. The people of B.C. saw what the Prime Minister did. He thinks so little of the people from western Canada and he thinks about Quebec, so he inadvertently insulted western Canadians and Canada's most western province.
The people of western Canada know that in the Liberal's proposal under Bill C-110 and under the command of the Prime Minister the federal government is giving the leader of the Bloc Quebecois a consultation prize-no, it is not really a consultation because there was no consultation. It is a consolation prize for losing the Quebec referendum, a veto.
The Prime Minister could be called the Bob Barker of Canada. Quebec spun the wheel and lost but the Prime Minister turned to his deputy and said: "Sheila, tell them what they've won".
It is unacceptable. The people in western Canada know that this is typical of Ottawa and the Prime Minister. Liberal prime minister or Tory prime minister, prime ministers from Quebec make it a habit to give things to Quebec: the CF-18s, military bases, the environmental secretariat, distinct society, all kinds of things. Western Canadians are used to this.
The Prime Minister, because of his lack of understanding of what the people of Quebec want and are saying, brought the nation to the brink of disaster. Single-handedly he nearly smashed Canada to smithereens.
Before the referendum in Quebec the Liberals were told to sit on their ham hands until further notice: "Don't even talk about the referendum". After months the Prime Minister allowed his caucus to discuss the Quebec referendum but only at the very last minute, within days of the people of Quebec taking their trip to the ballot box.
Then the big mistake happens. The people of British Columbia are watching a pathetic speech by the Prime Minister in Verdun, Quebec one night. Verdun is a very cool place, especially for young people. As a matter of fact Montreal boasts the best night life anywhere in Canada. Unfortunately the Prime Minister got carried away. He forgot himself and he forgot his speech. He started to promise Quebec everything.
I am sure the leader of the Bloc Quebecois was very upset. The Prime Minister on behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada started spewing forth a litany of gifts to the political elite, the rulers of Quebec, win, lose or draw. The people of British Columbia changed the channel on the television set because they could not watch it any more. They were insulted.
The next day the people of B.C. got together and commenced a long journey. They have to remind the Liberal Party and the Prime Minister that they exist in British Columbia. They must not be angry or hurt. They have to be diplomatic. We tell the Liberals: "Don't give a veto to the provinces, territories, groups of provinces, premiers, separatist governments, foreign nations, the Ayatollah or anyone else. Give a veto to the Canadian people". The people of Canada deserve a veto. The Liberals do not listen to Canadians.
On behalf of the good people of Okanagan-Similkameen-Merritt, I am proud to stand here today and oppose Bill C-110.