The outcome of the election is uncertain. But one thing is certain. Like the Phoenix, the Bloc Quebecois has risen from its ashes. Alan Freeman writes:
From holding caucus meetings in a large phone booth not long ago, the party is now nipping at the heels of the Liberals in public opinion polls and could even end up with more seats in Quebec than the Liberals in Monday’s election.
Credit is given to the strong performance on the hustings by Yves-François Blanchet, a previously relatively obscure cabinet minister in the government of Parti Québécois premier Pauline Marois, who long had a reputation within the party as “a goon” for his aggressive demeanour.
But the story goes well beyond Blanchet. With his gruff exterior and blunt delivery, Blanchet has been hitting themes which go all the way back to the Quiet Revolution:
Blanchet, who remains an unrepentant separatist, is going back to a mantra familiar to Quebec nationalist politicians for decades. Ottawa is good for two things. Cash and jurisdiction. If the federal government can’t pony up more money for equalization or Bombardier or whatever, then at least give us the jurisdiction. And then throw in the cash as well.
By the way, jurisdiction always trumps policy for Quebec nationalists. Quebec would rather have no pharmacare than pharmacare with a maple leaf. Quebec Premier François Legault claims that the province’s carbon credit policy makes it green but you’ll notice that Quebec recently joined the court challenge against federal carbon levies led by Alberta and Ontario. “We want to protect provincial jurisdiction to fight climate change,” he said.
If the challenge is successful, a national carbon levy would die and GHG emissions would grow across the country but Legault doesn’t care because what’s more important to him is autonomy for Quebec, not saving the planet. Expect more of the same from the Bloc.
Over the years, the federal government has worked out a detente with la belle province. It has not always been easy. Justin Trudeau's intervention in the SNC Lavalin saga was another attempt at detente. That didn't work out so well.
And immigration and pipelines have become flash points in the dance between Ottawa and Quebec City:
If you watched the debates, Blanchet kept on talking about Quebec’s jurisdiction over immigration. Not once did any of the federal leaders explain that Quebec may have a role to play but it’s a junior role, that immigration and citizenship are primarily the purview of the federal government and that we can’t have two citizenships within a single country. And it’s nice to make all sorts of demands on newcomers but if they don’t like it in Quebec, they have the right to move where they wish in Canada.
The same with pipelines and the environment. It’s as if federal leaders are embarrassed to tell Quebecers that the federal government has important responsibilities to protect the nation’s waterways and shorelines and to make sure that there’s unfettered interprovincial trade, while balancing local and regional concerns.
Pierre Trudeau knew when to tell Quebecers what they could have and what they couldn't have. Today's leaders have a hard time doing that.
Image: Montreal Gazette
4 comments:
Now that we've come face-to-face with the ever-present possibility of secessionists in two major provinces acting up at once, it may be time that we visited the question of continuing to allow the holding of multiple citizenship by any "Canadian is a Canadian is a Canadian". At the same time that Junior has been lecturing the world on the virtues of a "post-nationality" that doesn't really exist and given our tolerance for secessionist sentiment, we are reminded that we quite possibly have more reason to end the practice than most other countries would.
Dual citizenship hasn't been a problem up to now, John. It seems to me that the real problem is putting province over country -- sort of the Canadian version of Paradise Lost -- "better to rule on earth than reign in heaven."
It's always been a problem with respect to secessionism and for other reasons that many are reluctant to discuss. Most Canadians just haven't taken note of it, while Jacques Parizeau was consistently determined to ensure that his followers understood that no one need fear the loss of Canadian citizenship in an independent Quebec.
In Canada it's appropriate to avoid the term "dual citizenship" when speaking on the subject in a general sense because many of our fellow citizens are proud to own a whole pocket full.
True, John. Many of us have several passports. In the end, we have to decide where our loyalties lie. And for people like Pariseau and Jason Kenny, it's pretty clear which place comes first.
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