Mr. Speaker, it seems that the group of business people supporting the No side has finally
seen the light. Indeed, at a one-day conference of the Association du centre mondial de commerce, the chairman of the Canam Manac group, Mr. Marcel Dutil, made the following statement: "If it is yes, we will turn the page and carry on. We are all Quebecers, we are all nationalists, we all have different opinions, and the day after the referendum we will remain in Quebec".
Mr. Dutil's speech is in sharp contrast with the downright inexcusable and despicable comments made with regard to Quebecers by Messrs. Beaudoin and Garcia.
This common sense approach by the Quebec business leaders supporting the No side does not seem to be shared by Mr. Dufour, chairman of the Conseil du patronat du Quebec. While commenting Hydro-Quebec's withdrawal from his organization, he Dufour made veiled threats to Mr. Martineau when he said: "From now on, he will have to look for friends". End of quote. This type of insinuation must stop, and Mr. Dufour could learn a thing or two from Mr. Dutil about respect for Quebecers and for democracy.