Mr. Speaker, to sum up, we have before us a Bloc motion that concludes there is nothing to be done in order to improve the lot of Quebec inside Canada, that not only any attempt at constitutional reform is doomed to failure, but also that no offer Quebec could consider will ever be forthcoming.
We do not agree. We are more optimistic. There have been attempts in the past like the Meech Lake accord and the Charlottetown agreement. But the Bloc rejected both. They cannot complain about the failure of these agreements. They wanted Meech to fail. They cannot pretend today that they are unhappy that it failed. And the reason why they were against both Meech and Charlottetown is the same.
Any agreement with the rest of Canada would take the wind out of the sovereignist sails and would prove that Canada is worth the effort.
People who are interested in this issue can go to the New Democratic Party website and read the Sherbrooke statement, which was developed under the leadership of our current leader, who is, by the way, the first NDP leader who was born in Quebec. It is a vision of openness aiming at creating winning conditions for Quebec inside Canada, and for Canada inside Quebec.
According to yesterday’s survey, four Quebeckers out of five want Quebec to be recognized. But for now, any recognition is feigned because all that is being done goes against the recognition of the Quebec nation. This recognition should be enshrined in the Constitution if it is to have real meaning.
We would no longer have to watch the Conservatives play their little games when they vote against bilingualism for the Supreme Court judges, when they vote against giving fair recognition to Quebec by maintaining its political weight, when they carry out their deeds with the constant support of the Liberals.
The NDP has a very open vision of Quebec and its future within Canada. It is unfortunate that we do not have more Bloc members who share this kind of vision.