Mr. Speaker, if the members paid attention, they might commit fewer blunders in this House. I would like them to pay attention because, if there is one thing that all parliamentarians have in common—be they Reform, Conservative, Bloc Quebecois or NDP members—it is the democratic system.
We saw this in Quebec, when this vital element, democracy, was raised in connection with the reference to the Supreme Court. There was a huge consensus in Quebec on that democratic right. They criticize, they protest, but nevertheless there is a link between what is going on in the Supreme Court with respect to democracy and what happened here on February 26, 1998.
What were the hon. members trying to accomplish with their actions that day? They were trying to intimidate an MP who had been democratically elected by the people in her riding. Some Reform MPs even mocked us, saying we looked like deer caught in the headlights. They figured they had pulled a good stunt. But what they had done was something extremely significant, an antidemocratic act. They wanted to intimidate and frighten an MP, make her sit down, prevent her from asking the minister a question, and prevent the minister from answering her question.
What is more, when you stood up, Mr. Speaker, they started to sing the Canadian national anthem in order to prevent you from speaking. Two separate acts of collusion between Liberal and Reform members to prevent the Canadian democratic system from operating properly. That is extremely important.
Today, we see them acting outraged by what is going on in this House, yet they are the ones responsible for it. It is not the Bloc's fault if we have lost two days in discussion. It is the fault of Liberal and Reform members, as the Jacob affair was as well.
We must talk about the Jacob case. I expended a great deal of energy and time, both in committee and in this House, participating in debates and examining the legislation and precedents applicable to the situation, because once again an important principle was involved. Reform and Liberal members wanted to put the brakes on a Bloc Quebecois member, to stop him from doing his work, from acting democratically and fulfilling the democratic mandate he had been given. There is a common denominator in all of this. It is always the same. The hon. members today—