Mr. Speaker, I listened to my colleague's comment, and it makes me smile. I will ask him to consider the following: would he agree to the Americans representing him in the negotiations for the free trade agreement of the Americas? Would that be par for the course for him? Eighty-five percent of our trade is with the Americans.
When he says that the issue of sovereignty is not important, would he in fact be prepared to say “Go ahead, Americans, and represent Canadians, you would be capable of doing this for us. We will leave you to it”. I do not think this is the case. Canada aspires to having a distinct personality, and Quebec aspires to the same thing.
I reiterate that, as far as culture is concerned, we are in a unique situation in the Americas. It is the only place in America where the majority of people speak French, that has a francophone culture in America and that represents an entire people that lives a different lifestyle, a distinct society that is not Canada, that organizes itself in a particular way.
I would remind him that it is the third election in a row Quebecers have sent the federal government a message: we elect a majority of sovereignist members to parliament. This means there is a certain unease, a fundamental problem, and when the federal government wants to ignore the situation, it only confirms that something has to change.
The member said that Quebecers have refused to become a country several times. I will remind him of the facts. In 1980, we got 40% of the vote and in 1995, we got 49% of the vote. The lesson we are getting today on the FTAA negotiations will probably be the main reason that, next time, we will be over 50%. We will become a country, and we will be able to speak for Quebec throughout the world.