Mr. Speaker, I hear my good friends across the way wishing it were less time than that already. I have not even said a full sentence, and members are already shouting me down.
I have enough time to make one point, and it is this. While we are supportive of the seats going to the provinces that need them, we believe that a golden opportunity has been missed to continue to build Canada, to nation build. Remember that we are still a work in progress. We still have a province that has not signed on. We still have a strong sovereigntist movement within our country. We need to address these things. We have been very successful over the last couple of decades in turning the tide. The new official opposition is proof of that.
We believe that this was a great opportunity to lock in the historic vote that happened on November 27, 2006, when an overwhelming majority--almost unanimous, but an overwhelming majority of the House--endorsed a resolution to recognize the Québécois as a nation within a united Canada. That was a significant historical moment in this place. It sent a very strong message to Quebec that its future is safe from assimilation here in Canada and by virtue of that, it is safe within all of North America.
We believe that principle, which we endorsed here in 2006, should find its way into this bill and further reduce the effect of the sovereigntist appeal in Quebec, and also build the kind of regime in this place and across Canada that sends the message that all Canadians are important. We do that through a number of seats where there are guarantees in place. We all point to P.E.I. in terms of what it was offered to bring it into the family of Canada and the respect we have for that. We believe that extending that same kind of respect now to the province of Quebec and most importantly to the Québécois people is the right way to build the nation of Canada for today and for our grandchildren. We stand by that.