I have to admit some confusion over the English media’s rush to poo poo any thought of a Quebec ‘nation’ within the ‘country’ of Canada. These paragons of intellectualism fear that this will lead to more handouts and powers for Quebec.
I find that an interesting position to take given that without Quebec in the Constitution they have negotiated their own, distinct federal pension plan, their own immigration system, separate tax collection system, and on and on and on. In addition, Quebec has laws on the books that would be illegal anywhere else in Canada (i.e. the sign law).
I, for one, would like to get Quebec to sign the Constitution and get on with it. It’s perfectly reasonable to have a country like Canada that has a distinct place for Quebec. Quebec wants to ensure that it doesn’t become Louisiana – and that’s a fair concern. We should be able to protect the cultural and linguistic uniqueness of Quebec within Canada.
I think the public is tired of multi-generational concerns over Quebec separatism. I think the Canadian public might be up for a little effort to bring Quebec into the fold. To get that crap behind us.
But if the Canadian English media has anything to do with it, there won’t be any attempt to address this anytime soon.
Too bad.