Mr. Speaker, I also know the hon. member for Saint-Léonard.
I remember that, not too long ago, during an opposition day like this one in this House, when we were talking about the proposed referendum in Quebec, the hon. member for Madawaska-Victoria told me: "So, as a francophone living outside Quebec, I do not have the right to participate in this debate". I told her that no, she did not, but that the hon. member for Saint-Léonard did, because he is a Quebecer.
If he is as honest as he claims, he will admit that I made that statement here in this House; you can even look it up in Hansard . No, that is not my intention. What I mean is that some members have the nerve to lecture us here today, telling us that they were the ones who built this country-at least that is how I understood it-because we Quebecers are just a bunch of ``bums''. That is what the hon. member from the Reform Party told us through his thinly veiled remarks. He suggested that we wanted money, that we wanted things, that we came here to get funds. That is what I meant. I meant that we francophones have been in Quebec for 450 years, that we also contributed to this country, that our contribution was at least as important as that of more recent immigrants to Canada. That is what I meant, as the hon. member for Saint-Léonard knows full well.
Indeed, there are none so deaf as those who will not hear. That is so true. Particularly in debates such as this one, it is common for some people to twist what others have said. I am saying that Quebecers who have been here in North America for more than 400 to 450 years on average also have the right to speak up, to decide whether or not they were wronged in the past and whether or not they paid more than their fair share, and to demand that it not happen again. That is what the hon. member for Saint-Léonard should have understood, and I know that, despite his Mediterranean accent, he understands very well the French spoken here. That is to his credit, and I commend him.