Mr. Speaker, that is a very good question and one that has been troubling Quebec for about 28 years.
One of the parties, Quebec, did not in fact sign the Constitution. Nevertheless, for 28 years, in all the courts, lawyers representing either the government or private parties have been continually invoking the Constitution. Although the Constitution may not have been signed, these lawyers arguments' are indirectly linked to it. The Constitution is referred to on a daily basis before the provincial, superior and appeal courts, including the Supreme Court. Every day, the Constitution is invoked and, even though Quebec did not sign it, it is part of our daily life. No one has been harmed by the fact that Quebec has not signed the Constitution because we avail ourselves of it continually. We are making progress in this regard.
The Constitution contains what we refer to as the notwithstanding clause. Quebec, like any other province, has the right to use it and, naturally, has done so in the past. Although this is a thorn in our side, I would like to point out to the Bloc member that it was the Conservatives who signed the Meech Lake accord and it was the Liberals, under the direction of former Prime Minister Trudeau, who terminated it. Had this problem not occurred, Quebec would have already signed the Constitution with dignity. It is because of the Liberals that Quebec did not sign the agreement.