Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the masks came off.
Not only did the NDP reiterate its support for the Clarity Act—legislation that allows members of the House of Commons and all of the other provincial and territorial legislatures to restrict Quebeckers' freedom to control their future—but it also added insult to injury by introducing its own bill that would give the federal Parliament the right to veto the referendum question.
The NDP is no different than the Liberals and the Conservatives. Whether they are supporting the current Clarity Act or hastily drafting a new one to try to please everyone by offending no one, their intentions are the same. They are trying to shackle Quebec and place it under trusteeship, as Claude Ryan said. And how ironic it is that a member from Toronto is the one suggesting the right questions to ask to determine the validity of a referendum on Quebec sovereignty.
Either way, what was true before the Clarity Act is still true today: the Quebec nation is master of its own fate. The National Assembly is sovereign, and when we decide to take our place at the table of nations, it will be our choice.