Mr. Speaker, I am delighted the member for Prince Albert has given those examples because that is precisely the danger of the approach of the Reform Party today. What if there had been a referendum on the internment of Japanese Canadians in World War II and afterward? The fact of the matter is that was popular at the time and it was precisely because of those populist whims that the government was prepared to move. If there had been a Reform Party back then, its members would have been standing up saying they wanted a referendum on the issue and they would have trampled the rights of Japanese Canadians.
When we look at the Chinese head tax and the appalling treatment of Chinese Canadians, if there had been a Reform Party back then, its members would have been up there on their hind legs braying “We want a referendum and to hell with minority rights”. That is the position of the Reform Party. It does not give a damn about minority rights. It never has and it does not now for the Nisga'a.