First of all, I'd like to say that there is no link between the Council of the federation and the European Union. No common measure. The dynamic is just not the same.

In the European Union, members are sovereign states. In Canada, we've opted for federalism. There is sharing of the state's sovereignty between two orders of government, one being the federal government and the other being the provincial order of government. The dynamic is not at all the same. In my view, no one should be allowed to establish a parallel between the European Union and our situation.

I had the pleasure of studying the European Union in the past. I think that what the Europeans are doing is unbelievable. It's fantastic. They were imaginative; they were innovative and found different formulas to accommodate the divergent interests expressing themselves within the European context. I would like us to be as innovative as they are. But, in my view, their model cannot be brought here and applied here. There is a fundamental difference between their model and ours. Theirs is half way between a federation and a confederation. It is a hybrid model, a completely new model, very hard to define exactly. Some say this is a new federalism - they call it "neo-fédéralisme". There are different expressions out there, but none is clear and none describes perfectly what the European Union is about.

But our system is completely different. What we will have to emphasize in the future, once the Council of the federation is created, is the link between the Council and the population. I am aware and very sensitive to the argument put fort by certain persons who say the council is an executive body and decisions will be taken by premiers behind close doors leaving the population with no influence. The Council can be portrayed as operating in an obscure fashion. So, I'm very sensitive to need to create a link between the Council and the citizens…

After the Council is created, I think the premiers will have to ask themselves how the Council can be closer to their respective population. I would say the democratic deficit risks manifesting itself if we are not sensitive enough to the need of keeping the population informed about the way the Council of the federation is operating and is working. To be frank, some people have tried to corner me or push me into seeing a parallel between the European and Canadian situations, and I don't see any.