Canada’s Tories to Recognize Québecois Nation within Canada

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper thinks he’s got a good idea with which his Conservative Party can settle the Québec sovereignty issue once and for all. He is putting a motion before the House of Commons that states, “the Québecois form a nation within a united Canada.” Despite claims to the contrary by the government, this sets in motion the unpleasant prospect of more constitutional haggling.

The Canadian Tories' lieutenant Lawrence Cannon has said, “There is no legal consequence to this recognition,” and Peter Hogg, a constitutional law expert, told Macleans “unless further steps are taken, this will have no impact on the constitution.” The Liberal head of the provincial government Jean Charest noted, “the country is not currently in a position where we must engage in a new round of constitutional negotiations.” However, the motion is not a legal matter but a political issue.

Politically, it dredges up all the sovereignist ambitions of old. Andréi Bosclair, the leader of the Parti Québecois, said, “Once the [Québecois ] nation is recognized, there has to be a follow-up. It’s automatic. The constitution, the fundamental law, must reflect this reality.” Action Démocratique du Québec, a nationalist party with rightist economics, led by Mario Dumont, believes that it opens up all sorts of questions relating to federal-provincial lines of demarcation.

The Toronto Star wrote both accurately and wisely in its lead editorial last week, “It was utterly unnecessary for the prime minister to compound this problem by inviting Parliament to endorse this folly and take unwarranted risks with the future of the country.” After all, the PQ did badly in the last national elections largely because of a resurgence among the Tories in the province. Having shut down sovereignist ambitions for the life of this parliament, the prime minister shot himself in the foot. Why?

For one thing, he wanted to strengthen Premier Charest’s hand before upcoming elections in the province; a federalist alliance demands it. At the same time, he did so to outflank the PQ’s motion that would describe the Québecois as a nation. He gave ground there to declare that they were, nonetheless, part of a single Canada. By giving in a bit, he hopes to satisfy the moderate Québecois. Unfortunately for him, there are several other provinces in Canada, and the ones out west may not care much for the political wrangling that lies ahead if the motion passes. Already, there are calls to recognize the aboriginal peoples as separate nations.

Canadian comedian Yves Deschamps used to joke that what the people of the province wanted was “an independent Quebec in a strong Canada.” It’s no longer a joke. It appears to be government policy.

© Copyright 2006 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

Home