The Canadian Parliament recognized Quebecois as a nation within
a united Canada on Monday, backing a controversial proposal that
has already prompted one minister in the minority Conservative
government to resign.
The House of Commons, the Canadian Parliament's elected chamber,
voted 266-16 in favour of the motion, which the government said it
saw as a way to head off pressure from French-speaking separatists
who want to break away from Canada.
Critics said the proposal could actually bolster the
separatists, and the pro-independence Bloc Quebecois said it would
use the change to demand extra powers, including Quebec's right to
speak at international meetings.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong resigned over
the vote and said the separatists would use it to sow
confusion.
"I believe in this great country of ours, and I believe in one
nation, undivided, called Canada," Chong, whose cabinet brief
included Ottawa's ties with Quebec and Canadian provinces, told a
news conference.
"They (the separatists) will argue that if the Quebecois are a
nation within Canada, then they are certainly a nation without
Canada."
"I believe that recognizing the Quebecois as a nation, even
within a united Canada, is nothing else than the recognition of an
ethnic nationalism and that I cannot support," he said.
Chong's resignation does not threaten the government's survival,
but it does underline the political tension over the status of
Quebec, which has held two failed referendums over whether to break
away from Canada.
Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper drafted the motion
last week in response to one from the Bloc that recognized
Quebecers as a nation, but did not include the words "within a
united Canada."
Asked Tuesday about Chong's resignation, Harper defended his
course of action.
"This government believes strongly that the time has come for
national reconciliation," said the Prime Minister.
"That is why we put forward the motion before the House. It
recognizes the Quebec nation within a united Canada. We believe
this is the kind of respect and reconciliation that Quebecers are
looking for."
Following Chong's resignation the news for Harper did not
improve later on Monday, when Conservative candidates did poorly in
two by-elections to fill vacant seats in Parliament.
The party had hopes of capturing London North Centre in the
powerful central province of Ontario but came in third behind the
Green Party and the victorious Liberals.
As expected, the Bloc easily retained control over its
stronghold of Repentigny in Quebec, winning 67 percent of the vote
compared with just 19 percent for the Conservatives.
Quebec already calls its legislature the Quebec National
Assembly and calls Quebec City its national capital.
"It won't change anything in their day-to-day lives," Industry
Minister Maxime Bernier, a leading Quebec legislator, insisted
during parliamentary debate. "It won't give Quebecers more
powers."
(China Daily November 29, 2006)
