Mr. Speaker, on the weekend, the Quebec premier said that he would not hesitate to use the notwithstanding clause to restore the referendum act in its entirety.
As the House may remember, the Liberal government in Quebec City used this clause in language matters. In 1996, the current premier of Quebec disapproved of this option, saying that he believed in democracy and that, by honouring all the obligations, he would be able to face himself in the mirror in the morning knowing he had not suspended the application of fundamental rights.
Rather an odd message from the premier of Quebec. This approach seems acceptable to him only when his own government is contemplating it. Are we to understand that the premier of Quebec advocates a two-tier democracy? Is he really facing himself in the mirror or is he looking in the rear view mirror?