Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure and a privilege to have the opportunity to speak on such important legislation as Bill C-110, an act respecting constitutional amendments.
Many hon. members over the past couple of days have spoken on this most important issue and debate has flowed from both sides of the House. We have have heard all the figures and all the mechanics, such as the five and seven ratio. That is fine. I do not want to go over the facts and figures and the mechanics. I want begin my presentation with a quotation from two distinguished Canadians who gave their heart and soul to Canada.
I quote Sir John A. Macdonald:
If I had influence over the minds of the people of Canada, any power over their intellect, I would leave them with this legacy. Whatever you do, adhere to the union. We are a great nation and shall become one of the greatest in the universe if we preserve it. We shall sink into insignificance and adversity if we suffer it to be broken. It is God and nature who made Canada one. Let no person be allowed to put it asunder.
Another great Canadian, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, said this:
This cathedral is made of marble, oak and granite. It is the image of a nation I would like to see Canada become. For here, I want the granite to remain the granite, the oak to remain the oak, and out of all of these elements I would build a nation great among the nations of the world.
Approximately 100 years later the words that were spoken by these two distinguished Canadians we hear today from nations, that Canada is the best country in the world in which to live. I reach out to members in the House and tell them how blessed we are and I continuously remind my family and friends of that.
I really do not know what is going on here. I noticed last week that the new words inscribed in the coat of arms state: "They desire a better country". These two distinguished Canadians desired a better country. Each and every one who came to this country, whether as immigrants, such as our parents or grandparents, came because they desired a better country. People came to build on the foundations that Laurier and Macdonald established for us.
Where do we go from here? Do we have the will to survive? I say we must develop a Canadian soul. We must develop unity and pride and share it publicly. We must share the joy of being Canadian, share the joy of being unique among nations.
I am afraid of what has happened because this whole situation is out hand. Specifically, there seems to be a shoving match because neither the Bloc Quebecois nor the Reform Party are prepared to say: "Yes, we have made a mistake. Yes, our country comes before petty politics. Yes, there are times for give and take as the Fathers of Confederation did".
The country said yes to the railway in order to appease British Columbia in past years to make the union strong. I really fear what is taking place in the country right now.
I took my family to see the Lion King not too long ago. What I see across the way reminds me of the hyenas and the vultures, just sitting there waiting to grasp on to a situation. It worries me greatly. It worries me because we must be accountable to our children and our grandchildren and their children in generations to come. I am concerned because I do not even want to think of the day when I will sit with my grandchildren, and if God keeps me well, with my great grandchildren and tell them what a great country we had called Canada. There is a possibility that my grandchildren and great grandchildren will need a passport to visit their friends in Montreal or Quebec City. I do not even want to think about that.
Today I want to reach out, not just to members of the Bloc or the Reform Party who say they speak on behalf of their constituents. I do not believe that for a moment. On October 28, at three or four o'clock in the morning many of my colleagues and their constituents, seniors and students came together at Lawrence and Midland to load on to buses and take that six and a half hour ride to Montreal. They did not do it to beg Quebecers to stay in Canada. What they did was show their true love for this country. They tried to tell the nation from sea to sea to sea that we are one strong, united country and it only makes sense to keep it strong and united.
Their only means of getting to Montreal that day was in buses and planes organized by the members of the Liberal Party. I want to take this opportunity to thank the unity committee for its efforts in putting that project together.
I am concerned because there seems to be a falsification of the facts. The leader of the Bloc Quebecois stands up and through innuendo creates strawmen in trying to touch the emotional aspects of an ambiguous question, a question that was full of misleading statements, a question that was full of gaps, a question that had no substance, a question that was misleading.
I walked the streets of Montreal. I visited grocery stores. I visited restaurants. The people were confused right up to the very last minute. They did not know what they were voting for. God forbid if there is another referendum. I certainly would advocate putting a straightforward question to the people of Quebec: Do you want to stay in Canada or do you want to leave Canada? Do you want to continue to be a Canadian or do you want to become something else?
We are a relatively young nation compared to most of the nations in the world. But in that short period of time, we have managed to attain the status of the number one country in the world.
Earlier I spoke about Laurier and Macdonald. They too were immigrants. I am proud to stand in this House 100 or so years later, another immigrant, defending this country. It is a darn shame that we have members from the Bloc, members from the Reform. I was not born here but I am blessed to be living in this country.
There are not words that I can say to the members of the Reform or the Bloc that will change their minds. I am not going to attempt to, but I will be speaking to my friends in Montreal and in Quebec City and I am going to tell them what is the truth.
Members of the Reform Party keep flipping back and forth. The vision of their 20-point plan is this. They say they represent the rest of Canada and the rest of Canada does not want any province to have special rights over any other province. They say that they will never vote for a bill that gives one province more power than another. They forgot they felt this way when they brought out their 20-point new Confederation package. In it the leader of the Reform Party states that his party is in favour of Canada being split into five regions, in favour-