Hon. Hugh Segal: Honourable senators, setting aside for the moment all the joy and happiness opposite on the Supreme Court reference, could I ask the Leader of the Government in the Senate whether she and her colleagues might give some thought, since it may take over two yeas for a decision regarding the Supreme Court reference, to holding a public referendum to allow the people of Canada to vote on reform, status quo or abolition, not because such a vote would be binding but because it would be another indication of the public will?
L'honorable Hugh Segal : Honorables sénateurs, faisons abstraction pendant un moment de la joie et du bonheur que le renvoi à la Cour suprême suscite chez les sénateurs d'en face. Puisque la Cour suprême risque de mettre plus de deux ans à se prononcer, madame le leader et ses collègues ont-ils songé à tenir un référendum populaire sur la réforme, le statu quo ou l'abolition?