Despite somewhat healthy leads and something of a moral high ground these days (thanks the the PLQ’s various scandals), the separatist Parti Quebecois had three high-profile defections from their caucus today, dropping from 52 seats to 49, as well as s…
Continue readingTag: quebec
CuriosityCat: Is the Clarity Act constitutional?
One of the options facing a future Prime Minister Jack Layton is to consider a request to the Supreme Court of Canada regarding the constitutionality of the Clarity Act.
The Clarity Act was passed in 2000, and in 1998 the SCC decision dealing with the …
CuriosityCat: Would an NDP Government become an outlaw government? The chances are high
Jack Layton campaigned as a future prime minister, and won a resounding victory over the waffling Liberals and do-nothing Bloc, sweeping into Official Opposition party status.
Jack Layton – the Outlaw PM?
Now he is still running for prime minister, c…
Continue readingThe Progressive Economics Forum: Scheer Success
Andrew Scheer has been elected House of Commons Speaker. I met him in 2004, when we were federal candidates in adjacent Regina ridings. I was the no-shot NDP candidate against then-Finance Minister Ralph Goodale and he was the long-shot Conservative candidate against veteran NDP MP Lorne Nystrom. At the end of that summer, we were […]
Continue readingLeftist Jab: New Quebec Amphitheater Deal Explained
Instead of typing a rant, I thought I’d use animation: enjoy. (mature language)
Continue readingOn the Quebec question: (5) The Constitution
Final point I want to consider on this issue. Some objections to Quebec separatism or nationalism seem to turn on a fear of “opening up” — that is, amending — the Constitution. After all, Mulroney tried it twice, and was sunk both times. Constitution…
Continue readingVous n’êtes pas seul, mes frères d’armes. Un gouvernement libéral ne pas chercher à porter atteinte à Québec
Récemment, on a eu des nouvelles de plus en plus provenant d’Ottawa témoigne de l’importance croissante des provinces de l’Ouest, comme l’Alberta et la Colombie-Britannique, en politique fédérale.
Ce qui est également tout aussi inquiétant, c’es…
Continue readingOn the Quebec question: (4) Devolution
So far, I’ve argued that there are good reasons to favour Quebec’s right to determine, on its own, whether to separate from Canada. One option that has come up under various names — “sovereignty association” or “asymmetrical federalism” — is the poss…
Continue readingOn the Quebec question: (3) Nationhood
Is Quebec a nation? Is Canada a nation? Can there be a nation within another nation? These are difficult points, but some committment on these issues seems to underlie both proponents’ and opponents’ attitudes towards Quebec separation and nationalism….
Continue readingDon’t mess with my vote, Jack
With 59 of their 103 seats in Quebec, we could expect the NDP to pay close attention to Quebec’s concerns. That would, of course, be appropriate. But what I wouldn’t have expected them to do is propose eroding the democratic rights of the rest of us in…
Continue readingBlunt Objects: Boy, you gotta love Amir Khadir
He is the little Quebec socialist/separatist that keeps on giving:
Quebec politician Amir Khadir is not pleased the royal newlyweds will be visiting Montreal and Quebec City during their upcoming 9-day Canadian tour.
Khadir, who is a member of Queb…
Continue readingBlunt Objects: Reorganizing Canada: Rep by Pop, or Rep by Special Clauses?
Blogger Far and Wide (one of my favourites, a guy definitely worth reading) came out with a post today talking about how it may not be in the best interests of Canadian democracy and representation to give in to the demands of Quebec that it has a 24% …
Continue readingImpolitical: Frère Jacques…
There are some questions for you today. Lawrence Martin asks: “Are the NDP more Bloc than the Bloc?”
Claude Morin has a shopping list of questions along similar lines too. Not surprisingly, he’s a bit more specific in his approach.
What is that say…
Continue readingOn the Quebec question: (1) Clarity
(After this, I may just go ahead and write that Israel thing I’ve had kicking around in my head for a few years. While I’m stepping on landmines, I might as well step on them all in one go.)As newswatchers will know, there’s been a lot of chatter about…
Continue readingImpolitical: Rae interview on Radio-Canada
Rae is interviewed on Les coulisses du pouvoir. He speaks of a culture of division, a lack of solidarity within the Liberal party that is dangerous, about how Liberals differ from the Conservatives and NDP and finally in the last two minutes or so, tha…
Continue readingTHE FIFTH COLUMN: The NDP, The Quebec Question and 50% + 1
Much has been made of Jack Layton’s “controversial” comments on a possible Quebec sovereignty referendum.The fact is that it is a very rational and defensible position. Based on the closest precedent, the entry of Newfoundland into Confederation, Quebe…
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Whose interests, Jack?
During a press conference, the issue of the referendum for independence of Quebec came up, and Jack Layton did a bit of dodging and weaving around the issue.
Finally, he addressed Quebecers directly:
Layton walked a fine line in his speech to the troop…
CuriosityCat: Time for clarity from Jack Layton on the Clarity Act
As the man who crafted the Clarity Act which now governs the manner in which the government of Canada has to deal with the framing of a question for a referendum on the independence of Quebec put it, the law of the land cannot be wished away:
Unclea…
Continue readingCuriosityCat: Wanna understand the next 4 years? Read Éric Grenier
We all know the saying that the tail wags the dog. But sometimes it takes a bit of number crunching to determine just how big a tail might be, and then allow us to deduce just how much the dog will be wagged by a large tail.
Grenier has written a mus…
Accidental Deliberations: On losing strategies
Sure, Greg is right to criticize the Libs for being willing to provoke a national unity crisis for political gain. But I’m not sure when that became reason for surprise: have we already forgotten that the party’s main Quebec strategy during its stay in…
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