Mr. Speaker, a few months ago the federal government was backing lawyer Guy Bertrand in his bid to have the last Quebec referendum declared illegal by the courts. At the time, the federal government justified its action by saying that the government of Quebec was also taking an active interest in the Bertrand litigation.
Now we learn that the federal government is preparing to go it alone from here on and ask the Supreme Court to rule on what the government calls the legal issues surrounding Quebec's possible secession. In other words, the government is deciding to take up the crusade begun by Guy Bertrand.
Will the Prime Minister admit that, by taking the issue of Quebec's sovereignty to the Supreme court, the federal government is implicitly admitting that it has lost the political battle and is now trying to set up legal obstacles to prevent the people of Quebec from making their own decisions about their future? In a way, the government is trying to get the judges to do its work.