October 31, 1995 For Immediate Release
BLOC & PQ PROMISE "NEVERENDUM" - REFORM PROMISES DECENTRALIZATION
"Liberals keep the Bloc as Official Opposition because they fear Reformers more than separatists."
Ottawa - Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton-Melville, watched the Quebec referendum with the entire Reform Caucus in Ottawa last night. Breitkreuz observed that the results were so close that when you take off the 83,340(1.8%) spoiled ballots neither the "Yes" or the "No" side got 50% of the total votes: NO-49.5% and YES-48.7%.
"All Parizeau and Bouchard promise us is a never-ending series of referendums until they get the majority they need to break-up Canada. There is a need for strong leadership in the country and Jean Chretien's Liberals aren't providing it. They blew a ten point lead during the campaign. They have the best country in the world to sell and they almost blew it," said Breitkreuz. "We get no real leadership from the Liberals and the Liberals get no real opposition from the Bloc. The Liberals fear Reformers so much that they fight us to keep the Bloc as Official Opposition. Liberals know that the Bloc is not a government-in-waiting but Reformers are."
"Everyone is demanding change but many commentators are unclear what changes are needed because they are trying to appease the separatists in Quebec. We don't have to appease the separatists, we just have to give Quebec the exclusive powers that the Canadian constitution guarantees to all provinces. Now more than any other time in our history, we have to 'Stand on guard for Canada'. We must fight strongly to not let Quebec hijack the agenda even more than they already have. We have to guard against more special consideration and special status for Quebec while ignoring the demands from the western provinces," warned Breitkreuz.
"The rest of Canada needs to move quickly now," advised Breitkreuz, "to implement the twenty point plan put forward by Reform Leader Preston Manning. None of the changes proposed by Reform require a constitutional change and all changes would be offered to all provinces equally. Most people in Canada also want constitutional change. The west want a Triple E Senate and changes to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms but these changes can wait until after we make all the changes that our present constitution will allow. If constitutional changes are to be made, the must be made by a democratically elected Constituent Assembly not by a bunch of politicians in the back room. Maybe we should have a question on the ballot at the time of the next federal election asking all Canadians if they want a Constituent Assembly," suggested Breitkreuz.
For a copy of Reform's 20 Point Plan please call: