Mr. Speaker, these past few days, Quebecers have had a foretaste of the arrogant and contemptuous tone the federalist side intends to use throughout the referendum campaign. When federalist spokespersons are not calling politicians elected by the people of Quebec traitors, they believe they have been vested with the mission of crushing once and for all any resistance from Quebec.
The No side uses a mean and arrogant tone that reveals their desire to crush and clobber their opponents. They think that, if they are defeated, the claims, ideas and hopes they represent will disappear with them.
As Lise Bissonnette wrote this morning in Le Devoir , the real strategist of the No side, the Prime Minister, has always wanted to put an end to Quebec's claims, hence the War Measures Act, the fight against Bill 101, the 1982 Constitution, the opposition to even the slightest demands of Quebec in the Meech Lake Accord and, now, the refusal to make any offer to Quebec. For the Prime Minister, even moderate nationalism, as practised by Robert Bourassa, Claude Ryan and even Daniel Johnson, is to be knocked down and crushed.