Thursday, November 23, 2006

Is the Prime Minister building the nation, building the base or tempting fate?

The Prime Minister’s surprise announcement to recognize Quebec as a nation, within Canada is the focus of some heated debate today. With the Liberals on board for the most part (some with a bit of hesitation) for his end run around the Bloc Quebecois, the always controversial position of Quebec’s place in the federation is once again on the front burner and should reach full boil pretty quick.

The Bloc Quebecois put these dominoes in play with their motion (since modified) in front of Parliament that the MP’should vote on whether Quebec should be recognized as a nation, Harper decided to scupper that plan with an addendum that recognizes Quebec as a nation, but in the bosom of Confederation in perpetuity.

Yesterday the happiest guy in the country was Michael Ignatieff who floated a version of the idea a number of weeks ago as part of his bid for the Liberal leadership, an idea which he quickly find out wasn’t particularly well received by many of his fellow Liberals. Now with a life line from an unlikely source and a Conservative Prime Minister at that, Ignatieff is suddenly very much back in play for the Liberal title. Bob Rae had not really entered the debate over nation within a nation, though gave the impression he’d rather not deal with the situation and the idea was considered folly by Stephane Dion.

With the Prime Minister throwing this plan out there two weeks before the Liberal convention, the Liberals now can head to Montreal as a somewhat more united front (as united as they can be these days) as opposed to the sniping and bickering group that seemed to be split on the issue. Maybe the Prime Minister can be granted observer status and good seat for his efforts.

As for the NDP, well as only they can do, they will vote affirmatively for both the Conservative and the Bloc motions, nothing like making a definitive stand, or is that hedging ones bets, the lines do seem to blur when it comes to Jack and the pack!

For Harper though one wonders what the benefit is going to be. Constitutional issues are always the bottomless snake pit of Canadian politics, once you wade in there is no shortage of surprises that can come your way. The idea of giving any form of special recognition to Quebec has always been an uneasy idea in the rest of Canada, who still have visions of a nation that isn’t divided up into special status zones. The Days of Meech Lake should have served as a warning to any Prime Minister that Constitutional matters are approached with great caution.

Many observers figure this is a bid to shore up support in the much needed Province rich with disgruntled Liberal voters, many who vote Bloc Quebecois as a way of registering their distrust of the Liberals. With Harper’s move yesterday, the thought might be that some of those voters may shift allegiances to the Conservatives. A bit of strategic thinking that while perhaps temporarily beneficial to the party may sow much wider problems on Election Day.

Arbitrarily granting one portion of the nation(or the nation within a nation) a perceived special status (relevant or not) isn’t going to sit well with many. The fact that it comes out of the blue without little national debate is a dangerous path for any politician to travel. As Pearson learned in the sixties, followed by Trudeau in the seventies and Mulroney in the eighties, messing around with Constitutional matters can divide this country like no other issue. The Chrétien and Martin regimes tended to try to keep the file at the bottom of the in box, not wishing to revisit the days of referendum and discontent.

Canadians get very nervous when the politicians start to muck around with the fabric of the nation; special status for one inevitably results in resentment in some other quarter. It’s a rather remarkable step for a minority Prime Minister to make, by trying to gain support in Quebec he may very well find new fires springing up elsewhere.

Perhaps this is why the Harper government has taken this path, not a wanting to send the country into those lengthy endless conversations with no particular end in sight. You have to wonder however if our federal politicians are not out of step with the people that they ostensibly represent. Meech Lake and Charlottetown were two attempts to rewrite the national compact that found the people at odds with their politicians.

I worry that the Harper plan while designed to knock the Bloc Quebecois plans off the rails might have the effect of playing into those same hands. The concept of all Canadians being equal is one to which I subscribe, it at times is more of an ideal than a fact unfortunately, but I’m not really sure that this plan is the way to go to build on that simple declaration.

This may be the start of the Confederation of Regions idea that occasionally comes to the forefront, a Canada Balkanized into distinct regions with a weakened central system and few ties to a nation larger than its parts.

Yesterday the Prime Minister received a standing ovation in the House of Commons, outside of that cloistered group on the Hill however he may find that the reception may not be quite as warm.

Below are some links to some interesting discussion points on the issue.

Globe and Mail editorial-StephenHarper and the question of Nation
CKNW Bill Good Show (Thursday 9am to 10 am hour)-Open lines
Edmonton Sun Editorial-Harper Lost Us
'Nation status' potential minefield
Toronto Star-Harper's divisive Quebec gambit
Nation talk irks Manitobans
Maisonneuve-Tailor made unity, the Quebec collection
Toronto Star-Chantal Hebert
Toronto Star-Voices
PM Pulling the wool over our eyes-Bloc Quebecois
A country divided over nations
National Post- Don Martin: A deadly gift for the Liberals
National Post-Andrew Coyne: On our way to Belgiumhood
New York Times-Harper ready to loosen the Federal ties to Quebec
CTV News-Quebec nationhood a loaded question
CBC News-Quebec is a nation without conditions: Bloc motion
CBC News- In their own words: Quebec the Nation

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