Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada has stated on a number of occasions that the purpose of the reference is not to hold Quebeckers in Canada against their will, and that if secession were to be negotiated, this could be done within the framework of the law.
Yesterday my counterpart, Mr. Brassard, again said that international law gave them the right to proclaim themselves the government of a state. We need to know if this is true or false. If this is a wrong theory, we will all find this out, including the Conservative leader, who will learn it is no black hole. International law does not give the right to secession within a democracy.