Madam Speaker, there are a number of reasons I wished to take part in this debate on the bill to give effect to the requirement for clarity as set out in the opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec secession reference. The possible secession of a province is something to which we cannot remain indifferent.
Our government believes that it must ensure that there are clear procedures in place for the conduct of any referendum having to do with the separation of a province. Our determination in this regard is justified by the very importance of what is at stake. Our government's position is based on the opinion released by the Supreme Court of Canada on August 20, 1998. This opinion urged us, as politicians, to assume our responsibilities. That is what our government is doing.
The principal points in the opinion were as follows: neither international nor Canadian law gives Quebec the right to secede unilaterally. Secession of Quebec from the rest of Canada cannot be achieved unilaterally, that is to say, without negotiations according to the Canadian constitution.
In international law there can be no right to secession by virtue of the principle of self-determination of a people except in the case of a people that is governed as part of a colonial empire, subject to foreign subjugation and domination. According to the court, “such exceptional circumstances are manifestly inapplicable to Quebec”.
The other political stakeholders would not be obliged to negotiate except if a clear majority in Quebec were to clearly express its desire to no longer be part of Canada.
It is up to all of the political stakeholders to determine what is a clear question and what is a clear majority in a vote on secession.
The purpose of the court opinion was not to contest the legitimacy of a referendum consultation, nor to prevent Quebecers from speaking out on their political future. Nor did it in any way question the right of Quebecers to decide their future. Its purpose was, instead, to obtain clarifications on certain matters of law.
We do not wish to deny Quebecers the right to make the choice to leave Canada. We do, however, believe that the process should be clear and should allow Quebecers to express their wishes in total clarity. The supreme court opinion contributes to this. The important element of the court's opinion concerns the requirement of a clear question and a clear majority. The expression clear question comes up no fewer than 18 times in the opinion, and clear majority 19 times.
The court makes the obligation to negotiate conditional on a clear majority having voted in the affirmative in response to a clear question on secession. It is the job of the political actors to determine the clarity required. This is why the federal government has a role to play in this matter.
The clarity of the question is essential to the functioning of a democratic referendum. Public consultation in the independence process elsewhere in the world has always involved a simple and clear question. There is in fact no example of successful secession based on a small majority in a referendum.
The potential consequences of Quebec's secession are such that they require the clearest possible referendum process. Quebecers must not lose their country on a misunderstanding, through ambiguity. We cannot ask them to sign a blank cheque. This is in fact what nearly happened in the last referendum campaign.
We must avoid this in the future. Quebecers are entitled to know the scope of the decision they will have to take in a future referendum. And it is the responsibility of the political actors, including the Government of Canada, to see to that.
The court confirmed that all political actors have the obligation to negotiate in good faith the terms of Quebec's secession, in the event of a clear question and a clear majority. This is in paragraph 88. But it is also very specific in paragraph 96 about the difficulties that such a scenario would create. I quote:
Of course, secession would give rise to many issues of great complexity and difficulty. These would have to be resolved within the overall framework of the rule of law, thereby assuring Canadians resident in Quebec and elsewhere a measure of stability in what would likely be a period of considerable upheaval and uncertainty.
This is paragraph 96. The court mentions that the negotiations that would follow a clear majority vote in favour of secession “would address the potential act of secession as well as its possible terms should in fact secession proceed”. This can be found in paragraph 151. These negotiations would therefore be on the process leading to secession, not on a hypothetical project of association, as claimed by some secessionist leaders. The reference makes no mention of association.
Rightly so, the court says there is no “assumption that an agreement reconciling all relevant rights and obligations would actually be reached”. This is paragraph 97.
The court's opinion suggests that everything would be on the table should there be negotiations on secession, including the division of the national debt, the protection of linguistic and cultural minorities, aboriginal peoples, et cetera. The bill confirms that view.
The opinion also alludes to territorial integrity, and I quote:
Nobody seriously suggests that our national existence, seamless in so many aspects, could be effortlessly separated along what are now the provincial boundaries of Quebec.
As we can see, a secession would have major and multiple consequences. To go that route by relying on ambiguity would be extremely irresponsible.
The supreme court opinion protects the legal and democratic rights of Canadians for the future. It defines the legal framework within which democratic decisions must be made. It clearly states the principles under which Canada has evolved and prospered, namely, federalism, democracy, constitutionalism, the rule of law and respect for minorities.
We care too much about our country to lose it because of a misunderstanding. The supreme court opinion has clarified certain points of law, but it cannot in and of itself create a framework for the responsibilities of the Government of Canada, should it have to, unfortunately, begin negotiations which could lead to the separation of a province.
Separatists criticize us for doing our duty. Yet, those who elected us are asking us to do our duty. This is what we are doing by introducing this bill.
