Mr. Speaker, I have a couple of comments and then a question for the hon. member who has just spoken.
The hon. member gave a very good history of government incompetence in the terms of fiscal mismanagement over the past 25 years. He has proven to be very accurate in that regard. Certainly some members of the cabinet from the governing party have played an important role over this time period including the Prime Minister who was finance minister in a former Liberal government.
The member also said that it is this fiscal mismanagement and the financial condition of Canada that would drive Quebec out of this country and is leading Quebec out of this country if the referendum is successful.
The hon. member said that under these conditions of financial mismanagement the federal system in Canada does not work as it is now. I absolutely agree with that. The federal system in Canada does not work as it is now. I would like to ask the member a question. I am going to put some "ifs" into the question.
If governments over the past 30 years had been more fiscally responsible, if the federal government had left the powers that rightly belong to the provinces under the Canadian Constitution in the hands of the provinces, and if each province were given control over language and culture, would this member be sitting as a separatist in this Parliament? If those conditions had happened, would he be sitting in this government trying to lead Quebec to become a separate country? I am asking the member to look back.