Saturday, December 6, 2008 8:49 AM
Quebec bashing? It's B.S.
Norman Spector
Today's lead editorial in La Presse, by André Pratte:
"Where after all did Québécois politicians and commentators see any “Quebec bashing” during this week of political crisis? Where was the negation of the legitimacy of Bloc MPs? Where was the contempt toward the Québécois?
"No doubt, you could find traces of it on blogs or listening to hotline programs on radio. But from the political class in Ottawa? There was none of it.
"In their frontal attack against the coalition—the tone of which one can certainly deplore—neither Mr. Harper nor his ministers ever spoke against Quebec or claimed that the Bloc did not have its place in Parliament.
"Thursday, the Prime Minister expressed his point of view in clear and moderate terms: “I respect the right of the Bloc to pursue its program, and I am ready to accommodate the requests of the Bloc when these requests are in agreement with the principles of our party. But, as Prime Minister, I will never put myself in a position where I depend on the Bloc for my mandate to govern the country.”
"In other words, M. Harper has no problem with the Bloc as an opposition party. However, he does not believe that one should allow independentists to participate, directly or indirectly (the coalition) in the government of the country from which they want to separate.
"Where's the insult to Quebec in his position?
"One reproaches the Conservatives for having repeatedly employed the word “separatist” to denounce the alliance of Liberals and the NDP with the Bloc.
"It's said that this word can have a pejorative connotation.
"Actually, in the dictionary, “separatist” is neither pejorative nor insulting. According to the Robert, a separatist is any “person who demands political separation, autonomy in relation to a State, or a federation.”
"Isn't this precisely what the PQ and the Bloc want?
"Québécois independentists (another word that is banned in Québec …) ditched the word “separatist” because they wanted to emphasize the constructive aspect of their position. That's their right. However, they cannot impose their vocabulary on English Canada, for whom the separation of Quebec – and that's what we're talking about here—has no positive side too it.
"Many non-sovereigntists vote for the Bloc. Is M. Harper snubbing them when he says he does not want a government allied to the Bloc? Not at all.
"Québec voters should be consistent. If they feel they are well represented in Ottawa by sovereigntist MPs, they should not at the same time demand that other Canadians trust these MPs when they are invited to take part in governing the country.
"Refusing to bow to all our paradoxes is not to reject Québec."
UPDATE: Judging from some of the initial comments of readers, there seems to be some confusion regarding the above. These are not my words, they are the words of André Pratte, in today's lead editorial in La Presse, which I have translated into English. It is he, not I, who is debunking the Québec-bashing allegation.
