Mr. Speaker, I praise the openmindedness of my colleague who was elected to the Quebec National Assembly and who saw the Meech Lake accord die. We were not able to have the Meech Lake accord agreed to, with five very acceptable conditions that were even more reasonable than what could have been expected from Quebec. Quebeckers wanted much more because they want a country.
But even then there was, I would say, a small window of opportunity, and you know how it was rejected. It truly hurts. I do not know what to call this when we see the people who came to tell Quebeckers they love them just before the referendum and when we know that these are the same people who rejected the Meech Lake accord. It is nothing but a joke.
My very experienced colleague says everything would be all right if only we could be recognized. But even the Meech Lake accord, as I said earlier, was not acceptable to Quebeckers. So how can they accept this unique society concept today, in 1997?
I would like my colleague to explain to me how Quebeckers could accept this unique society concept when nobody can say what it means. We first had the distinct society concept, and it means more to me than the word unique because we know everybody is unique. In my opinion, this unique society concept does not mean a thing. I would like my colleague to explain to me how he could convince my colleagues and my constituents in Matapédia—Matane to accept this concept.