Mr. Speaker, I listened very carefully to the speech made by my colleague opposite.
First, I would like to tell him that for us, Quebecers, sovereignty does not mean establishing borders or putting up walls between us and the rest of the world. Quite the contrary. I think Quebec sovereignists have shown, through the kind of partnership they have proposed to the rest of Canada, that they are open, that they want to sit down and talk, that they want a change at this point in their history.
So I hope the member has understood that also. In his speech, he talked about other places in the world where there are francophones. Louisiana in one of them. We know that Napoleon sold Louisiana to the Americans and that the small community living there at that time decided to let itself be assimilated.
Today, the French culture in Louisiana is nothing but folklore. There are still some people who speak French, but they are very few. It must be understood that these people were assimilated because they were in the United States of America, where English is the only official language. We do not want this to happen to Quebecers.
What we want is to control the economic and political instruments that will allow Quebec to grow and to secure its future. We will have to start all over again, to explain, as the member said, that sovereignty is something that will not die. But I want to tell the member that the sovereignty of Quebecers and of Quebec is something positive, something dynamic.
It is a movement that is leading us into the third millennium in a positive way. A people who decides to take control of its own destiny, that is just fantastic. I remember the night of the referendum when Claude Ryan, former leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, said: "The rest of Canada will have to recognize Quebec as a distinct people in the Canadian Constitution". Today, what we are being offered is a motion of the House that is valid only if it is supported by the majority. So I think what we are discussing today is entirely different from the offer Quebec would like to see.
We are not afraid of losing our language and our culture, and sovereignty which, as I said earlier, is a positive thing, is the reason why we are not afraid. However, we must go about this intelligently. We must have the means to ensure our survival, and we will have them in a sovereign Quebec. As I said yesterday here in the House, when the Canadian Confederation was established, an understanding was reached. Today, more than 125 years later, it is time the rest of Canada realized that we are talking about the future and the very survival of this Canadian territory.
So I would like the hon. member to comment and try to understand the position of Quebecers, which is very positive.
