Mr. Speaker, firstly, I would like to point out that the poll to which the hon. member for Roberval referred was conducted in the month of March. In addition, the figure of 54 per cent is being interpreted in a specific way by the Bloc Quebecois and the Parti Quebecois. The statistic of 54 per cent refers to those who are in favour of sovereignty association; according to the latest poll, only 32 per cent of those polled are in favour of independence. Consequently, it is obvious that this important statistic has been distorted by the Bloc Quebecois to mislead people.
Regarding the Privy Council's budget, clearly it will cost us more to defend national unity if the referendum is delayed. This is true for the Province of Quebec, it is true for the Parti Quebecois and it is true for us. The figure approved in the estimates truly was what we believed we would spend on a referendum which we expected would be held in June. If the Parti Quebecois had kept its word, that is what would have happened.