Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to the speech by the hon. member for Beauce, who paid a lot of attention to the opinion of the supreme court. He said “The supreme court said this, the supreme court said that, the supreme court thought that—”
The supreme court is their court. The court whose judges they appoint. My colleague who just spoke probably does not know this, but before 1949, when there was a dispute, particularly a constitutional dispute, things were referred to the privy council in London. It was a neutral arbitrator that could rule on disputes of this nature.
I also say so for the benefit of the member sitting to the right of the member for Beauce, because I am sure that she does not know it either. These references to the privy council in London were prohibited in 1949. Does my honorable colleague know that out of the nine judges sitting on the supreme court, three come from Quebec? These are usually not the type of people who would have sovereignist leanings or who would even be able to understand what the sovereignists are asking for.
It is a bit like a divorce case, where the wife would say “In our dispute, the arbitrator will be my mother”. The verdict is easy to predict.
Does the member who keeps talking about the supreme court not recognize that it is acting a bit in this way? I would like to say something, but I will not say it here because it would not be polite. I also have a mother and she would be offended. I would rather let him answer on the subject of his beloved supreme court.