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“I am a Canadian; we accept that we are in Canada”
August 29, 2012
If the sovereigntist movement is ever to die, this is how it will die:
One thing is clear: I don’t want to define myself as a federalist. I want to define myself as a Quebecker first, but also as a Canadian. … I am a Canadian. We accept that we are in Canada. I think we’ll have a good relationship with Stephen Harper. I think that we agree on many issues, including the economy and public finances. Of course, we have some disagreements on social issues. … I am back in politics for ten years, and I will never promote the sovereignty of Quebec.
That’s the best case scenario for these ex-separatists, and it’s not a terrible one.
I sometimes wonder if separatism died under Chretien and Dion. It’s the kind of thing that we would all be worried about in the rest of Canada. Then one day we notice it’s gone and it’s all “where did that go?” I don’t pretend to understand Quebec politics, but I expect that if/when separatism dies it will be years before everyone believes it’s dead. Absent actual separation it would be a wimper, not a bang.
The Clarity Act was the great bluff-call.
It worked.