That attitude was made clear again in the deliberate double standard applied to the premier of the host province of Quebec. Any business willing to spend half a million dollars is offered an opportunity to speak to the heads of government gathering in Quebec. However the premier of that province, who represents not half a million dollars but seven million people, is not allowed a speaking opportunity in his own capital. That only makes Canada look foolish in a world that knows we are a federation and that respects us because we respect diversity and freedom of speech. Another consequence that is just as serious is that, in practical terms, this fuels the accusatory atmosphere here in Canada and it could undermine our ability to act in the world that surrounds us.
International trade is of course a federal jurisdiction.
But while the federal government can sign treaties, their implementation requires the co-operation of the provinces. This is a lesson that we learned with the free trade agreement initially signed with the United States. I recall very well the arguments advanced by the hard-line constitutionalists of Ottawa, that the provinces did not have the right to negotiate in matters of international trade and thus should not be at the negotiation table. We rejected these arguments, because we reject the vision of Canada based on confrontation. We knew moreover that if the provinces were excluded from the negotiations, they would invoke their own constitutional powers in order to prevent the agreement from taking effect.