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Originally Posted by kwoldtimer
Whatever one thinks of Black, that is an interesting article, and not only for the straightforward presentation of relevant history. His thoughts on a new constitutional dispensation, including the formalization of mechanisms for the partition of seceding provinces, are the kind of thing that Canadians need to be discussing, although we may not be ready in which case the opportunity could be missed.
For as long as I can remember, the issue of Quebec independence has seemed like a one way street, which has served to generate increasing resentment and resistance in MOC, even to the point of dangerous "don't let the door hit you" attitudes during the recent Quebec election campaign. New thinking is required. Specifically, I'd like to see the country move on to "What is Quebec willing to give in order to achieve what it wants?". Black's suggestion of agreed mechanisms for the partition of seceding provinces strikes me as a very good one, as part of a broader package (just look back to comments on partition in this thread to see why). To that, I'd add explicit constitutional recognition of the federal mandate in international affairs (with a defined, limited provincial role if necessary) and a formal agreement on some federal role with respect to Canada's francophone culture. I actually don't find his comments about the Senate and Supreme Court very contentious (why not have the Feds appoint them from lists of qualified candidates provided by the provincial governments, for example?).
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Good points. I like how he just out of hand says Quebec is unlike any of the other provinces, never has been, and should be dealt with differently.
As an aside, ironically enough, had the provinces gone along with Harper's early Senate reform proposals, something like the Fair Elections Act would have a hell of a hard time getting through the Senate.
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I have my doubts, however, that public opinion in Canada is prepared for that kind of thinking - the "oh no, not the Constitution" mentality seems to have a pretty firm hold.
Edit: Reading the comments in the NP (one should never do that!), it would seem that many are totally unprepared to shake off old ways of thinking. I wonder if the same wouldn't be true of Quebeckers' comments (coming from the opposite direction) if Le Devoir or La Presse were to pick up the Black piece?
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Other pundits were responding similarly on Twitter as well. The sentiment seems to be that separatism is dead, let the good times role and ignore any of the things Quebec has had issues with over the years because it doesn't matter anymore.
I think they're wrong and Conrad Black is correct: we haven't seen a premier of Quebec like Philippe Couillard in living memory. He hasn't been elected on a sovereigntist ticket, nor even on a more typical Quebec Liberal nominally federalist but demand-more-out-of-Ottawa platform. The very fact that he wasn't elected on either of those is the perfect reason why now is the time to get the constitutional issues addressed and out of the way, once and for all.
I also see another issue in the future: if Couillard actually is successful in getting Quebec back on its feet - and he seems like the type who might just be able to carry it off - it will make the 'cost' to Quebec of separation more bearable. All but the most blinkered of Quebec sovereigntists realize that Quebec has to gets own house in order before separation can be seriously contemplated. By the same token, it's an idiotic national unity strategy to try to keep Quebec in Confederation by way of fiscal dependency.