Dear Canadiandesi friends:

From quite sometime I have been reading about issues on Quebec separatism. Although much of the fears have receded as of now, the issue can spring back again in any election which brings back the Parti Quebecois back into power.

How does it affect us as immigrants? What options do we have? What do the futures look like and what steps has Ottawa made to stem another referendum in the future?

On that, I would like to shed some of the major things that I have read:

1. Following separation, Quebec may face huge costs on public debt and would also lose a lot of money on redistribution payments which it receives from Ottawa. However the separtists have not at length weighed in this scenario and neither have they acknowledged that fact that moving out from the federation would strip Quebec off much of its wealth.

2. Also, the Rest of Canada (ROC) will suffer setbacks as Canada will be a much smaller country having lost its largest province and also economically the CD$ will go down dramatically. It's position in the international community will not have that bearing as it can have with a unified border. This is just one small aspect of all what ROC may lose both in the short and long term.

3. After the defeat of the separatists by about 53,000 votes the score being 49.6% for YES and 50.4% for NO in 1995, a shocked Ottawa sought from Supreme Court some prime questions about how could Quebec secede unilaterally. In 1998 the Supreme Court ruled that Quebec cannot secede unilaterally either under Canadian or the International Law. The only way it could do that would be if it won a refendum on a "clear question". Various debates ensued after that on the determination of what would a "clear question" be defined as?

4. Subsequently, Parliament passed Clarity Act in 2000 saying that if Quebec/or any other province were to gain independence it could only do if it gets a majority vote (Ottawa and Quebec have still not reached a conclusion on the %age, some say it should be two-thirds majority but Quebec maintains that it should remain 51%) on a referendum with a clear question. And after that Quebec would have to start on a series of negotiations with the ROC about borders (because the Cree and Inuit tribes of North Quebec wish to stay with ROC) and all those areas in southern Quebec with Anglophone majority should also stay with Canada. This, in essence, is to complicate independence to such an extent that may abate the talk of separatism.

Refer: http://www.canadianlawsite.com/clarity-act.htm

Another serious complication that may come about is the geographic isolation of the Atlantic Provinces which might give them a reason to join the US. Please refer to this website which advocates a merger between Canada and US!!

http://www.unitednorthamerica.org/home.htm

I think we should all support a unified Canada and respect Quebec's distinct society putting it in the Canadian confederation. Because it is not good for Canadians and the values for which the Confederation was formed.

Parti Quebecois should not succeed in any given election and I would urge all of you to never support it!

Me2Canada

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