I said it during the election campaign and I’ve said it since; Paul Martin would open up the Quebec issue, and Quebec nationalism would rise again.

From the Globe and Mail web site today:
Former ministers Maurizio Bevilacqua and John Manley — both said to be building leadership teams — said the deal would tie Ottawa’s fiscal hands for years to come. They also questioned the wisdom of signing a separate side deal with Quebec.
The health accord is a step toward getting Quebec’s signature on the Constitution, Mr. Martin suggested Friday.
“I would very much like to see Quebec sign, I think we all would,” Mr. Martin said.

Quebec nationalism will be an issue in the next election; I guarantee it. Why Martin feels a need to drag this out into the open again, I don’t know.

I’ve never really bought the argument that the lack of a Quebec signature makes our constitution somehow illegitimate.

The lack of a Quebec signature is nothing more than a concrete manifestation of the personality of Rene Levesque, who hated to lose and was bound and determined to create a separate Quebec, regardless of what the majority of residents had thought.

Had Prime Minister Trudeau taken Levesque up on his suggestion to put the issue to a referendum, the majority of Quebec residents would have voted in favour. Levesque knew it; Trudeau knew it; the other 9 premiers knew it.

Levesque’s refusal to sign shows a disregard for the English speaking population in Quebec, as former Premier Parizeau’s comments once did.

French Canadians are a critical cultural part of this country, but let’s not forget how many of them don’t live in Quebec either.

The lack of a Quebec signature is not the same as the lack of recognition for French Canadians.

Our constitution enshrines individual rights without discrimination; it doesn’t have to change.

Posted by skooter at 9:57 PM This entry is filed under .