Mr. Speaker, I do not now envy the load of responsibility you carry. The decision which is yours now to make is pivotal.
I add and emphasize the definition of the official opposition, which you must take into consideration, from section 196 of Beauchesne:
The political party which has the right to be called the "Official Opposition" is the largest minority group which is prepared, in the event of the resignation of the Government, to assume office.
This statement does not say the government will resign, but only in the event it resigns.
I cannot emphasize strongly enough the importance of the decision you are about to make in the next six weeks. You are being called on to decide who would form the Government of Canada in the event the Liberals resigned.
If you decide Canadians are best served by a party whose stated objective, which it has demonstrated in the last two years consistently, is to break the country into two pieces, you would err greatly.
We receive a great deal of mail. I receive mail from my constituents in Elk Island and from other people right across the country. The Speaker needs to be informed that there are Canadians right across the country who have written to Reform MPs, me included, in near exasperation, asking when we will do something.
We are helpless in the sense, as has been pointed out, that we are the third party by the ranking of numbers. A number of petitions by electors of Canada have been presented, asking the House to name a loyal party to Canada the official opposition. This is of greatest importance.
I have received letters from and have had personal appointments with people who said they are so distressed but feel so helpless. They ask: "What can we do? We have a group in Canada that wants to tear the country apart and we cannot even deal with them in the House of Commons".
This is a very serious problem. I urge you, Mr. Speaker, to do the right thing, and I appreciate the tremendous responsibility you bear at this time.