Mr. Speaker, in his speech, the Leader of the Opposition implied that a Conservative government in Ottawa would dampen Quebec's drive for independence. This raises several questions for me. Let us look at the facts rather than his speech: Yesterday, Quebeckers elected a Parti Québécois government, which obviously advocates for Quebec's independence. Under Conservative leadership, from 2012 to 2014, a Parti Québécois government was also elected, one that advocated for Quebec's independence. For the benefit of my Conservative colleague, I would like to add that the Bloc Québécois has never disappeared. The Bloc Québécois is still here. There have always been people fighting for Quebec to stand on its own two feet.
My question is this: Can he not acknowledge that it is a legitimate aspiration for a nation to have its own country?