Mr. Speaker, the hon. member will know that it was the hon. member from the Reform Party who raised the cross-Canada referendum; it was not something which I mentioned.
The hon. member opposite likes to pretend that anyone who relies on the rule of law is speaking against the democratic expression by the population of Quebec of its will. That is simply not so. The people of Quebec have every right to express themselves democratically in a consultative referendum.
Where my hon. friend goes wrong and where the attorney general of Quebec goes wrong is to say that from that result they can proceed unilaterally to walk away from the contract, just leave the table. That is the crux of the issue.
Let us not confuse the issue. We respect the right of the population of Quebec to express itself democratically, but we must insist that there be no unilateral action, that we keep in mind that this issue affects the interests of all Canadians and it will only be resolved in accordance with principles that provide for its orderly disposition.