In the wake of Liberal party leader Michael Ignatieff's rejection of the proposed Liberal-NDP coalition, Bloc Quebecois -- the thinly-veiled third partner in the proposed government -- leader Gilles Duceppe has decided that it's time to renew the Bloc Quebecois' efforts toward Quebec sovereignty.
Reportedly the BQ had offered to take sovereignty off the agenda for 18 months as part of their agreement to prop up the coalition in confidence votes.
Now that the coalition is firmly off the table, Duceppe is in favour of renewing efforts toward Quebec sovereignty.
"Our goal is as pertinent as ever," Duceppe told a party meeting in St Hycainthe."In 2008, Bloc and Parti Quebecois victories brought hope to sovereigntists," Duceppe explained. "It's up to us now to translate this hope into action."
This announcement comes after the BQ and their provincial counterpart, the Parti Quebecois, were victims of several "friendly fire" incidents in which prominent members denounced the sovereignty program as impractical.
But as Duceppe calls for renewed efforts towards Quebec sovereignty, some people may wonder: what, precisely, has changed?
That is, aside from the obvious. Clearly, Ignatieff's rejection of the coalition agreement has changed the political landscape amongst the opposition in Ottawa. But other than that, what, precisely could have changed to precipitate this change in Duceppe's plans?
Clearly, the electoral fortunes of the BQ and PQ in 2008 haven't changed.
Reportedly Duceppe also noted the Liberal party's support for multiculturalism as a factor in his decision to push the party back toward the sovereignty agenda. Presumably, this hasn't changed over the past few months either.
The question of what changed over the past week to change Duceppe's plans so has just become startingly relevant.
It's hard to think of anything other than two possibilities. One is that Duceppe never intended to honour his commitment to the no-sovereignty-for-18-months promise. The second is that multiculturalism somehow factored into the promises the Liberal party and the NDP had to offer up in order to secure the Bloc within their coalition fold.
One thing is for certain: as a partner in the coalition government, the BQ never would have been able to put the interests of Canada ahead of Quebec's own parochial demands.
"For those who may not have noticed, no matter what party is in power in Ottawa, Liberal or Conservative, no matter who's in charge, the interests of Canada take precedence over the values and interests of Quebec," Duceppe mused.
Which can only mean that devotion to anything the BQ defines as "Quebec's interests" would have come before the country as a whole's -- especially likely issues related to national unity -- in order for the coalition to survive.
This is only one more reason why Canadians should be thankful that the spectre of the proposed coalition government has been dispelled for the immediate future.
Maybe next time the Liberals and NDP will wait until they don't have to rely on an unreliable and untrustworthy political bloc in order to accomplish this particular goal.
Other bloggers writing on this topic:
My Corner of the Universe - "The Definitive Sign That the Economy is on the Skids"
The Squid Zone - "Survivor - Canadian Style"
There is something about Duceppe that gives me the willies even worse than Layton. I can imagine both of them ordering jack booted thugs to arrest and send their political opponents to the Gulag but Duccepe has a quality about him that causes me to suspect he would also take a macabre pleasure in the pulling out of the fingernails of every english speaking canadian. The guy is creepy!
ReplyDeleteUm... I think that's a bit melodramatic, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteYes it certainly is! Hehe. I`ve been reading some books about soviet communism and there are some startling similarities between the ideals of these two and those of Trotsky, Gorky, Marx and some of the other esteemed communist intellectuals. I guess I could clarify by saying that the slippery slope of socialism if not kept in check can snowball into the paranoia and murderous repression as it did during and after the russian revolution. That is also more than a little melodramatic I suppose but no one ever thought that the russian brand of runaway socialism would result in the murders of some sixty million souls. Could that happen here? Probably not but considering the blind LUST for power of Layton and Duceppe gives the impression that if they were able to gain power they would be very reticent to relinquish it merely at the "whim" of the voting public.One of the most common words and themes in soviet literature is the word socialist, and as we know the far left is very fond of the writings of Marx and Trotsky/Lenin. This is very disconcerting to think that while none can argue that the soviet brand of socialism failed miserably, there are many on the left that think that they could reinvent a western brand of socialism that COULD work.socialism and communism rely on the fact that ALL members of such a society MUST absolutely and completely dedicate themselves to the greater good of the nation as a whole and set personal aspiration to the side in favour of the collective. Considering human nature, this can only be achieved by the removal of anyone who would challenge such a system in favour of the "EVIL" capitalist ideals that the west was founded upon. I could go on but I`m afraid that I would become increasingly incoherent as my rantings progressed. I am reading and learning as I go and am never afraid to adjust my opinions as the facts require me to. I apologise for the fact that I tend to blurt out thoughts as they enter my head and in doing so the continuity of my lectures suffer and start to sound like the ramblings of a half insane lunatic but the full meaning of what I`m trying to say is in there somewhere. You are a smart guy and certainly know more about this stuff than I do so if you have anything to add or any rebuttals to what I`m saying I would thoroughly enjoy hearing it. I`m more interested in learning than simply needing to be "right".
ReplyDeleteWell, Canada has a long and proud democratic history. Even if Layton and Duceppe were predisposed to political thuggery -- and every indication is that they aren't, although Duceppe's movement has shown itself to be willing to twist the democratic process to its benefit -- they'd have to simultaneously overthrow the Constitution, the Canadian court system, and subvert both the RCMP and the Armed Forces.
ReplyDeleteThat's one helluva feat for a couple of parties that can't even form a government.
Perhaps I am a little paranoid myself then.
ReplyDeleteThe Quebecois and they`re separatist comrades HAVE indeed shown a propensity towards political thuggery with their language laws and their thinly veiled hatred of all things anglophone. I do not for one second believe that they would not persecute anglophones if they were to achieve they`re dream of a separate francophone state in north america.They already are willing to subvert all anglophones in quebec regardless of whether those people wish to remain in Canada or not! Combine this attitude with the the socialist ideals with the hatred of all things anglophone and you have the makings of a regime that oppresses all others in favour of the preferred race or ideal. Within the ranks of the Bloc and the Parti Quebecois are many supporters of the former FLQ who can be described as nothing less than a terrorist organisation. In fact there is, or at least was, an quebec JUDGE who was charged and should have been convicted for delivering a package that was an FLQ BOMB! He got off the charge due to lack of evidence that he knew what was inside the package! Yeah right, he knew what it was! The separatists support hamas and the Insurgency in I raq and virtually every other so-called "freedom-fighters" around the world. Democracy is not part of the separatist ideology unless it is by francophones and for francophones. Perhaps this is all just a surmising of things that are possible but I`m not willing to give Duceppe and the separatists the benefit of the doubt, after all there are sooo many of them who were in support of the bombings and murders that tainted the movement during the FLQ`s shortlived reign of terror.
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