I am not a square head as the member seems to indicate.
Let us go back to the results in 1980. The results were that 59.6% said no. I do not know what part of that they do not understand; 59.6% said no and 40.4% said yes. That is more than 50% plus one.
The question was quite remarkable in the 1980 referendum: “The Government of Quebec has made public its proposal to negotiate a new agreement with the rest of Canada based on the equality of nations; this agreement would enable Quebec to” and it goes on and on. It asks if the people agree with giving the Government of Quebec the authority to negotiate some kind of arrangement with the rest of Canada.
The answer was clear then. The separatists did not agree with the answer. They did not agree with the results so they worked over a 15 year period to develop another question. That question is shorter and a little more clear. Remember that those members are asking for 50% plus one. The question is: Do you agree that Quebec should become sovereign after having made a formal offer to Canada for a new economic and political partnership within the scope of the bill respecting the future of Quebec and of the agreement signed on June 12, 1995? Yes, 49.4; no, 50% plus one.
If they agree that it should be 50% plus one, if that is the argument, then they should accept the results. The results are very clear.
I do not accept the premise that anybody wants a referendum other than Premier Bouchard, a few of the henchmen that work with him and perhaps the members of the Bloc. In all of the polling results we have seen, it is absolutely clear that the population of Quebec does not want it. They want to get on with other things in their lives. They are the same as everybody else. Their Visa cards are overextended. They are trying to get the kids through school. They have to buy a new car or get the old one fixed. They have the same problems everybody has whether they are in St. John's, Newfoundland or Victoria or Saskatchewan.
I believe that they are saying, “Once and for all, would you people in Ottawa put a question that is clear and let us get an answer to this”. That is what this bill says. It is absolutely beyond me why anybody would object to that.
The history of this issue is quite interesting. People talk about the recent history. They talk about the referendum when Mulroney tore the paper in half and caused people to get upset. They talk about the closeness of it, but this has been going on in this great country for years and years and years.
I consider myself to be a Pearsonian Liberal. Lester Pearson, the great prime minister of this country, did some things but I am out of time and I cannot share those comments about the Right Hon. Lester Pearson.
I will say that it is fair to have a clear question and it is absolutely fair to have a clear result. Finally, if we are going to have a referendum, once and for all we can put this issue to bed and get on with developing the greatest nation in the world.