Dictum of the day, or on rejection of absurdity

It is further suggested that if the secession bid was successful, a new legal order would be created in that province, which would then be considered an independent state. Such a proposition is an assertion of fact, not a statement of law. It may or may not be true; in any event it is irrelevant to the questions of law before us. If, on the other hand, it is put forward as an assertion of law, then it simply amounts to the contention that the law may be broken as long as it can be broken successfully. Such a notion is contrary to the rule of law, and must be rejected.

Reference re Secession of Quebec, [1998] 2 S.C.R. 217, para. 107-108.