Saturday, November 25, 2006

Should Canada Recognize Quebec as a Nation?

On Wednesday, Harper shocked the country by saying he was asking the House of Commons to approve a resolution recognizing that the "Québécois form a nation within a united Canada." - Toronto Star

Alas, we have someone who hasn't been living in the country for most of the past 30 years to thank for this new "crisis from nowhere." ...It encouraged the Quebec federal wing of the Liberal party — the sponsors of the sponsorship scandal — to think that this "nation" formulation would revive their fortunes. ...Confident in his skills as a strategic thinker, Stephen Harper has tried to one-up both the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois by recognizing Quebec as a nation within Canada. ...How will this all turn out? It will either fizzle or explode. - Nelson Wiseman

It seems to be a semantic debate that doesn't serve any purpose. - Steven Harper in June, 2006 (from CBC radio)

When Stephen Harper announced that he intended to introduce a motion in the House of Commons declaring that Quebec constituted a nation within Canada, this seemingly profound gesture was more about political tactics than about setting right historic wrongs. Harper deftly inserted himself between the Bloc Quebecois and a divided Liberal party on the eve on its leadership convention with his sudden initiative. - James Laxer

I'm not going to oppose the motion. ...we've been through this soap opera for long enough and if it can be brought to an end with something that has no great legal or constitutional consequence, then that's one thing. But I think we all need to reflect on what's happened and how these things can get more complicated than they really need to be. ...it would seem that some people are interpreting it to mean something quite dramatic and other people are interpreting it to be much less, which is one of the reasons why these symbolic debates can be so difficult. - Bob Rae

It's an unnecessary step on a slippery slope... But since it says Quebeckers, not Quebec, because it implies no constitutional consequences, and mostly, because it allows us to move on and deal with bigger issues, let's use it to close a door that was foolishly opened. - Justin Trudeau

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