Mr. Speaker, the questions being asked in the referral to the Supreme Court of Canada are entirely based on the position taken by the attorney general of Quebec himself in the Bertrand case.
Everyone believed that the primacy of the rule of law here in Canada was obvious, and the unilateral declaration of independence by Quebec was illegal and irresponsible, yet the attorney general of Quebec stated for the first time a few months ago that
the courts and the Constitution have nothing to do with the process by which Quebec is proceeding toward sovereignty.
It is, therefore, the responsibility of this government to clarify and determine these basic questions. We have asked the questions in this referral in order to clarify and precisely determine the primacy of the rule of law in Canada and the fact that a unilateral declaration of independence is illegal and irresponsible in Canada.