André Harvey on An Act To Give Effect To The Requirement For Clarity As Set Out In The Opinion Of The Supreme Court Of Canada In The Quebec Secession Reference

In the House of Commons on February 7th, 2000. See this statement in context.

An Act To Give Effect To The Requirement For Clarity As Set Out In The Opinion Of The Supreme Court Of Canada In The Quebec Secession ReferenceGovernment Orders

February 7th, 2000 / 5:45 p.m.

Progressive Conservative

André Harvey Progressive Conservative Chicoutimi, QC

I will skip the years 1984 to 1993, because I am not at all ashamed to be a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. Our predecessors drove the debt from $18 to $200 billion. They have managed to increase it elevenfold in nine or ten years. We only doubled it.

The constitutional issue was another mess. Had the Meech Lake accord not been a failure, we would not be here discussing this issue.

The failure of this agreement was not co-ordinated by the Canadian people; it was the doing, once again, of a few politicians.

At the time, polls were conducted across the country, not only in Quebec, and 92% of Canadians supported the agreement. But some politicians, and they were not members of the Progressive Conservative Party, made the whole thing fail.

See context to find out what was said next.