Mr. Speaker, in stating that a sovereign Quebec would not be part of GATT and NAFTA, the Prime Minister has once again, for lack of other arguments, resorted to scare tactics. With his remarks, the Prime Minister is increasing the risk that his own people of Saint-Maurice will be isolated.
The Prime Minister is also going against the interests of the rest of Canada for which maintaining trade with Quebec will continue to be an unavoidable necessity. The most recent poll by Léger & Léger indicates that nearly 60 per cent of English Canadians would want to maintain economic ties with a sovereign Quebec.
Nor is there any doubt that provisions under GATT and NAFTA will effectively apply to a sovereign Quebec, the second most important trading partner for the rest of Canada and the eighth most important for the United States.
Would the Prime Minister care to explain why he so prefers Valparaiso, Chili to Shawinigan, Quebec?