Mr. Speaker, the Reform-separatist alliance seems to be moving ahead now. The meetings between the Bloc and Reform MPs have been officially endorsed by Lucien Bouchard. Who knows, if this courtship period is successful, we might see the creation of a brand new party. The Re-Bloc comes to mind.
What is entirely clear is that if this is the Reform's idea of how a united alternative will work, then it already appears to be falling apart.
As one commentator put it “It is extremely unwise for a federalist party to say it wants to attract separatists or sovereigntists whether they are called hard or soft”. This comment was made by none other than Stephen Harper who used to be a Reform MP. Perhaps he foresaw the desperate lengths that his former leader would go to to try to become Prime Minister.
Canadians rejected this scheme when Brian Mulroney and the Progressive Conservatives tried it and they will reject the Reform-Bloc coalition just as quickly.