Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, first of all, I am delighted with the hon. member's commitment to never again identify himself and his party as the sole Quebecers. That in itself is very good news. Second, and I have always said the same thing about this, there may be disagreements on the choice of words, but what counts is the substance.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to finally be able to express the truth about the status and the role of the people of Quebec, because it is not being expressed by the opposition and never will be. The people of Quebec enjoy the greatest possible autonomy within Canada as regards their own institutions.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, first of all, in his preamble, the hon. member spoke of "we Quebecers". I would remind him that I am as much a Quebecer as he is, and that no one here has the right to speak as if he were the one and only spokesperson for Quebecers. I feel obliged to remind him that Quebec is a pluralistic society.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, the official opposition seems to want to play dictionary games. What counts, and I have been saying this since I arrived in this House, is substance. Substance is what counts. And the substance that Quebecers want to keep for the most part is a Quebec identity and a Canadian identity; a Quebec pride and a Canadian pride; a Quebec solidarity and a Canadian solidarity.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition, whom I thank for his questions, seems, surprisingly enough, not to understand one thing. It is an extraordinary opportunity in today's world to be born a Quebecer and a Canadian. I am a Quebecer and a Canadian and I would fight with every means democracy puts at my disposal anyone who tried to take away my Canadian identity.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, what is this I hear? Acknowledging Quebec's difference would be meaningless? What the opposition fears is that we might manage to reconcile Quebecers and Canadians so that they may join together in the same country to face the formidable challenges of the 21st century.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, I have been wondering since yesterday whether or not the hon. member can read or hear. It is stated in the resolution-and I want to put it on the record, because the Prime Minister himself pointed it out yesterday-that the Liberal Party of Canada supports the enshrinement in the Constitution of the principles recognized in the parliamentary resolution passed in December 1995 defining the distinct society.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, I have little to say on that, except perhaps that this is wishful thinking on the part of the hon. member.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, what is this backtracking the Leader of the Opposition is referring to? It is very clear that Quebec is a distinct society within Canada. It is very clear that the Government of Canada intends to recognize that reality by all necessary means. The Government of Canada will make every effort to convince Canadians to reconcile, for there is indeed an element in this English speaking North America, in this bilingual Canada, that is called Quebec, an admirable society which is able to affirm itself as a great reality, a reality which Canadians wish to keep as part of their country.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, to take more of an overview, for 30 years now Canada has been trying to survive the threat of secession. We are the only democracy that has been faced with this problem for 30 years, yet the same values are shared by Canadians in all provinces and in Quebec; they share a desire to live together.

The Constitution  Mr. Speaker, bilingual or trilingual democracies have measures to ensure that their language communities will live together in harmony. It is what we have in Canada. We are very proud of it.

The Constitution  Mr. Speaker, we must state the facts. Since the beginning, since 1988, the intent to put in the Constitution the recognition of Quebec has never been a device to change the distribution of powers in the Constitution of Canada. Never. Some politicians who do not want to reconcile Quebecers and Canadians may say that but it is not the truth.

Distinct Society  I thought I had been very clear. We have a pluralistic society in Quebec, one in which a number of different points of view are expressed, one in which people need to be left to define themselves as they wish. Some wish to define themselves as primarily Quebecers, others as primarily Canadians, and what is so wonderful in Canadian federation is that no one forces anything on anyone else.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, I am not much versed in how things are done here, but if I understand the hon. member correctly, he wishes me to repeat what I said, because he did not understand it fully.

Distinct Society  Mr. Speaker, this is the first question asked of me as a member of Parliament, and I must thank the hon. member for it. Anyone wishing to properly describe public opinion in Quebec is obliged to admit it is not a society in unanimity, but a society where various opinions are voiced.