Madam Speaker, I am indeed an independence activist, or, as my rivals would say, a separatist. India calls its Sikh citizens separatists. My belief in independence is based on democratic values. I have said before that I am a sovereigntist, because the democratic ideal is rooted in the sovereignty of the people.
In that sense, I do not think any comparison is possible between Quebec separatists and Sikh separatists. Our movement is not based on religion, and I can think of few violent episodes or years in the history of our movement.
In fact, the 1976 election of the Parti Québécois laid all such claims to rest.