Mr. Speaker, as one of the 10 or so MPs who has been in this parliament since before the first Quebec referendum, I would like to offer the following advice to the Prime Minister.
No one has ever saved Canada by trying to make themselves out to be the saviour. They only make things worse. The supreme court did not say that the political task was up to either a majority PQ government or a majority Liberal government in Ottawa. Canadians should not have to choose between a unilateral Liberal initiative that is provocative and counterproductive or Mr. Bouchard's musings about a UDI.
If the Prime Minister insists on proceeding, the opposition should be part of a meaningful process of constructive dialogue among ourselves and with Quebec. Anything less looks like using the court decision for partisan political purposes or an attempt by the Prime Minister to secure a place in Canadian history that may yet prove to be not what he has in mind.
The Prime Minister likes to say he is all alone. To date, it has not been hard to believe that he is all alone, because he has chosen to be so.