Mr. Speaker, we have heard a lot said in the last little while about democracy in the House. There have been great protestations about what is taking place in the House, how the government is moving and the kinds of tactics that are being used in order to get the business of the House done.
There is a reason to be concerned. The House has not been a happy place in which to work or in which to have a legitimate debate for some time now. When considering that, we have to look at where that feeling arises from.
The government has spoken for a long time about the need to do something to clarify the rules for secession. The Prime Minister spoke about it during the 1995 referendum. I recall that he repeatedly stood in the House and said that 50 plus one was not enough. This did not come to the floor of the House this week or last week; it is a position that has been held by the government for a very long time. There was a discussion of this last summer leading up to the renewal of the session. In the Speech from the Throne there was an indication of the government's desire to do this.
Each step of the way one of the parties opposite, rather than seeing this as an opportunity to debate a fundamental question of fundamental importance to the country, has said that it does not matter what occurs in this Chamber. That party has said it does not matter what is put down by the Government of Canada, that its members will not involve themselves in the process and will do everything they can to stop it. That has been stated over and over again by members of the Bloc Quebecois.
At a certain point we are left to decide whether we want to let one party hijack the House. It is unfortunate that the tools one has to deal with are heavy handed. The tool to limit debate is not one which anybody in the House likes to see used but it is a necessary tool in the face of the activities, particularly in this place, of the Bloc Quebecois.
Let us look at this. If we are talking about democracy, if we are talking about legitimate debate on legitimate questions in front of the House, let us look at what we are debating today. We entering into debate on 411 amendments to Bill C-20. We are debating 12 of those amendments and now a subamendment to one of them. What are these earth shattering important amendments that we are going to take up the time of the country to debate?
Motion No. 1 is “That Bill C-20 be amended by deleting the title”. This is the quality of the debate the Bloc wants to put on the floor of the House. Motion No. 3 deletes lines 1 to 37 on page 1 and lines 1 to 33 on page 2 of the bill.
Let me read some of the lines that members of the Bloc would have us delete. “Whereas any proposal relating to the break-up of a democratic state is a matter of the utmost gravity and is of fundamental importance to all of its citizens”. That is what they want us to delete, but there is more. “Whereas the government of any province of Canada is entitled to consult its population by referendum on any issue and is entitled to formulate the wording of its referendum question”. That is what they want us to delete.
At the same time we hear them arguing fiercely that the Government of Quebec has the right to ask any question that it wishes. When I read “Whereas the government of any province of Canada is entitled to consult its population by referendum on any issue and is entitled to formulate the wording of its referendum question”, it seems to meet the test that the Bloc would have us consider. Yet Motion No. 3 calls upon us to delete that from the preamble of the bill.
Just in case people have not understood that, Motion No. 7 is a very narrowly drawn motion. Motion No. 7 says “That Bill C-20, in the preamble, be amended by deleting lines 11 to 15 on page 1”. What are lines 11 to 15 on page 1? “Whereas the government of any province of Canada is entitled to consult its population by referendum on any issue and is entitled to formulate the wording of its referendum question”.