Mr. Speaker, the French President, Jacques Chirac, said and I quote “France will accompany Quebec, whatever route it chooses to follow.”
That was enough to get the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs into a panic. Trying to appropriate the words of the French President, the minister asked himself: “Is anyone not willing to accompany Quebec?”
Yes, and none other than him and his government. Among other things, he refuses to accept the democratic rule of 50 percent plus one; he wants to draft the referendum question himself; he argues that all Canadians should have their say in the future of the Quebec people; and finally he tries to use the justices of the Supreme Court by having them declare the democratic choice of Quebeckers illegal.
Rather that making a fool of himself, the infallible minister should react calmly and take note of the willingness of France to recognize a sovereign Quebec.