Rejection of Quebec Nationalism

“Well, I am trying to put Quebec in its place — and the place of Quebec is in Canada, nowhere else.” (Pierre Elliot Trudeau)

Nevertheless, the Quebec separatists have always been looking for defying the Canadian Federalism, however, this time they failed miserably because the Quebec Liberals won a landslide victory.

Quebec has been constantly threatening to leave the Federation unless it gets more. Due to the blackmail, this province did play well when it came to milking the “mama-federation.” It’s like a spoiled child who gets addicted to receive and receive only.

After the recent Provincial Liberal win in Quebec, the threat of separatism seems to be disappearing.

Good thing is the Canadians didn't give up on Quebec, and the Quebecers have spoken in a louder voice this time to remain a part of Canada at all cost. At least, all other Canadians do have a better opportunity now to really love the Quebecers who are equally Canadians too.

In simpler words, the recent Quebec Liberals on their landslide win gave a great news for Canadian unity to have a federalist government in Quebec. Winnig a decisive victory over the Parti Québécois means a lot when it comes to a stronger federation in terms of unity.

Historically speaking, Mr. Pierre Trudeau entered politics to stop Québec separatism. His government would not grant Québec "special status," and it met the terrorism of the 1970 October Crisis with a toughness which surprised the Canadians, and alarmed some. The Official Languages Act (OLA) of 1969 implemented bilingual policies that remained controversial for the next quarter century, even though the act had a simple scope and aim. The OLA was meant so that the Canadians could receive federal government services in either official language.

Mr. Trudeau became a sharp critic of contemporary Québec nationalism who argued in favour of a Canadian federalism in which English and French Canada would find a fresh Equality. This term is commonly associated with various movements in Québec since the 1960s, most notably the Parti Québécois (PQ) and the Bloc Québécois.

The PQ got re-elected in 1981 on a promise to defer the independence question for at least another full term of office. However, its popular support began to diminish, particularly after the resignation of Lévesque in 1985 and the defection of several prominent ministers. The party got defeated in the provincial election of 1985 by the Liberals under the rejuvenated leadership of former premier Robert Bourassa.

Again in October 1995, the PQ government had referendum proposing to negotiate an economic partnership with English Canada following a majority vote in favour of sovereignty.

But, about halfway through the campaign Premier Parizeau surrendered his ‘de-facto’ leadership of the ‘YES’ side to the more popular Bouchard. That caused the sovereignists to lose by a narrow margin in the October 30 referendum (49.4% to 50.6%), yet he managed to win a substantial majority among francophone voters.

Parizeau resigned by blaming the referendum defeat to “money and the ethnic vote.” He was replaced as premier by Lucien Bouchard. http://thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/separatism/

Furthermore, on 20 August 1998, the Supreme Court declared unanimously that under domestic and constitutional law, the Québec government could not initiate legal steps toward secession.

The federal government and the other provinces of Canada would be obliged to negotiate with the Québec authorities in good faith.

Clarity Bill: Dion subsequently drafted the Bill C-20 known as clarity bill under which a "yes" vote in a referendum would be regarded as a "clear majority" on a "clear question." It would involve more than 50% plus 1 (i.e. a simple majority), it did pass into law in June 2000.

Premier Bouchard failed to mobilize increased support for the separatist cause, and this failure, and later internal criticism from the more hard-line separatists in his party, caused his resignation as Québec premier in January 2001. He was succeeded by Bernard Landry in March 2001. Despite his strong and clear reaffirmation of his commitment to Québec sovereignty, he couldn’t deliver. Thus, the support for Québec independence eventually dropped to about 40%, its lowest point since the 1980 referendum.

http://www.prime-ministers.ca/trudeau/issues.php

Unless the liberal government delivers economic prosperity within its tenure, the pain of PQ's “divisive charter of values,” banning Quebec's public sector workers from wearing religious clothing would continue to have scar marks.

The separatists’ hype of “the xenophobia" would worsen the situation by making it illegal for public servants,  teachers and medical personnel to wear prominent religious symbols or garb, i.e. hijabs, niqabs, burqas, yarmulkes, crosses, turbans, etc. Remember! Islamophobia has caused a great deal of discomfort for the Muslim community.

True, the current liberal victory did neutralize the poisoned minds of the Quebecers who have been carrying the symptoms of separatism from time to time, yet all the previous referendums favouring a united Canada, Bill 101 and the deal with Canada always let the optimism stay in a fragile mode.

Hence, the fear remains that the question of Quebec sovereignty isn't over yet.

Since no miracles are expected of Couillard; he is simply unable to fix a large number of Quebec issues within the short span of his tenure.

How can we underestimate the aggressive tones of Pauline Marois and her coterie? They certainly will come back bickering about the issue in the near future.

Most definitely, the PQ will be more than happy to cash any failure coming from the federation. God forbid, if the PQ is back in power, it will find a way to divide the Quebecers to reach their dirty goals.

It’s encouraging to know that Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is in favor of a joint resumption of the Ontario-Quebec cabinet meetings in the wake of Philippe Couillard's election.

It’s strongly recommended that all of ‎the Canadian provinces must work together to disinfect the country of the “crazy germs of separation” that persistently keep stemming from Quebec.