Vive le Quebec libre?

[silver 2039]

What is your opinion of Quebconois sepratisim? Does Quebec have legitmate reason to seprate and if the majority desire it should they be held in the Confederacy by force? (As was planned in '65 I belive)

What are the current sentiments of the Quebocnois and other Canadians on the issue? (For Canadians of course)

 

[Abaddon]

As an English man... if its going to create anything like the trouble in northern Ireland with some wanting to seperate, and others to stay together

LEAVE IT AS IT IS!!!!!!

 

[El_Machinae]

I have very little knowledge about why Quebec wants to separate. I certainly don't think the effort will improve anybody's lives for a long time (compared to just living our lives normally without the massive paperwork and tax dedication).

 

[Urederra]

It is not 'libre' right now?
Does the rest of Canadians oppress the quebecois?

My impression is the other way around, the quebecois use their francophony to subjugate the rest of Canada.

 

[El_Machinae]

The impression I get is that Canadian tax dollars are being used to prop up a non-sustainable self-image in Quebec. ie, their provicial business model (designed to maintain culture) is not ideal and thus has to be propped up with outside money.

It's a bit like my money going to a museum. I agree to a point that funded museums are essential to a society - but the massive scale of funding Quebec's vision of "the way things should be" is too much to ask.

However, I don't know the internal view.

 

[h4ppy]

I support the efforts of Quebec to succede but only becuase I like chaos. Oh and I love it when I hear Canadians complain, I figure that it would get a good ole rant out of the Canucks. After that though I think it would be intresting to see how Canada deals with the situation and if there is a reunification after a little bit of independance.

 

[Secular]

Canadian civil war! with beavers and sharpened hockey sticks being the weapons of choice.

 

[Evie]

There'S some decent historical justification for it, and the cultures are obviously different (but then Canada is a hodgepodge of different cultures anyway ; the myth of a Common Canadian English Culture is a bad joke independance fans like to tell themselves).

Politically and economically, it's likely to do at best as much harm as good. Regardless of what the latest Holy Dogma out of the Parti Québécois says about "effervescence".

(Yes, the whole Marois effervescence/turbulence inanity really turned me off the PQ and independance. You guys are either majorly delusional, take Québecers for idiots who won't realize on their own separation will be a painful thing no matter how it happens, or both)

For those not aware what the above paragraph is about, during the last leadership campaign in the Parti Québécois, one of the candidates, Pauline Marois, stated that there would be "turbulences" (ie, upheaval) in the event of separation. She was promply booed down by the rest of the party waving "reports" that said there would be no such thing, and eventually pretty much had no choice but to back down to "effervescence" ("excitement" - in a semi-negative sense - is the closest I can come up with).

As I said - either they're delusional, or they take Québecers for clueless morons. Either way, it was a majorly ridiculous move on their part.

 

[Taliesin]

Luckily, their support plummeted by ten points practically overnight.

 

[Yuri2356]

It is not 'libre' right now?
Does the rest of Canadians oppress the quebecois?

My impression is the other way around, the quebecois use their francophony to subjugate the rest of Canada.

That's the impression I get, too. From what I've read about the lest few political attempts to get seperatists to quiet down, the Fracophone population of Québec is obsessed with maintaining itself as something specal and distinct from the rest of the country. (In the sense that they'll be the ones caling all the shots) Rather than letting themselves be another slice of a multicultural Canada, there must be some sort of power devide that makes them 'better'. Things like French-Only advertisements, and the like, because (IMHO) they're affraid that if they're not above everyone else they'll loose their identity.

Or seomthing like that.

 

[Hitro]

I think anyone should seperate from anything if they like to.

 

[Cuivienen]

The impression I get is that Canadian tax dollars are being used to prop up a non-sustainable self-image in Quebec. ie, their provicial business model (designed to maintain culture) is not ideal and thus has to be propped up with outside money.

It's a bit like my money going to a museum. I agree to a point that funded museums are essential to a society - but the massive scale of funding Quebec's vision of "the way things should be" is too much to ask.

However, I don't know the internal view.

I agree entirely with this post. In fact, I have extreme difficulty seeing why Canadians do not want to allow Quebec to separate - Quebec drains a huge amount of money out of the Canadian economy in order to "maintain its culture." While I understand why Quebec feels that this is necessary (if it wasn't done, Quebecois as an culture would probably be near-dead today), it simply isn't beneficial to Canada. If however, Quebec were independent, the costs of maintaing Quebec's culture immediately transfer to Quebec, and, just as significantly, the costs drop off as a francophone-majority country (as opposed to province) would have far fewer problems maintaining Quebecois culture.

 

[MobBoss]

As an American.....it makes me laugh my ass off.

 

[Elrohir]

I'm an American, so I really don't care very much. I think it might be a little amusing to see the politicians in the capitol squabble, but I don't really care.

 

[pboily]

while it might not be economically viable for them to do so, those who want to separate from Canada feel that way for the same reason that most Canadians do not want to become Americans, or some (most?) Americans do not want to be part of a United World: too many people they disagree with.

 

[Taliesin]

As I understand it, that the francophone nation was preserved at all following 1757 was owing to a combination of shrewdness, magnanimity, and a certain noblesse oblige on the part of the British. While I suspect it is long past that maintaining Quebec was shrewd or even self-interested on the part of Ottawa, I think the other two features are still factors in how the rest of Canada deals with Quebec, consciously or not. I am more of an anglophile than the average person here, to the point of self-identifying as a specifically English Canadian, but somehow I am still proud of Quebec and feel pleased that French language and culture remain a valued part of Canada-- I am glad that Quebec is in the Confederation. I'm not sure how to account for this, since I don't speak French fluently and have never been particularly exposed to Quebecois culture, except by supposing that a sizeable sense of affection or obligation towards Quebec resides in the national psyche. Therefore, even though Quebec's somewhat privileged status may come at a price to the rest of the country, I don't think we're likely to change the relationship any time soon.

 

[El_Machinae]

In fact, I have extreme difficulty seeing why Canadians do not want to allow Quebec to separate

It would cost much if they separated, the paperwork alone is stupidly daunting.

 

[Bill3000]

Can we just eliminate thier culture entirely to kill two birds with one stone?

 

[dragokatzov]

I am a New Brunswicker. New Brunswick has a strong Acadian population and many people, including myself, can speek french
Acadian and English New Brunswickers have lived together for a LONG time. The North being french and the south being English.
given that, i think Quebec seperatist have a childish and illegitiment reason for wanting to seperate. So they speak a diffrent language and have a diffrent cuilture, big frigging deal. who the hell cares! they have their own province, their own goverment, and can over ride the feberal goverments decisions, and have access to the non-withstanding clause, which i think is stupid, but whatever.
"we are diffrent from the rest of canada" is NOT a good enough reason to declare independence. Look at the North, look at westreners, look at maratimers, look at newfoundlanders. each group is diffrent. and the very vast majority of them think canada is a great country. so why should quebec be diffrent?

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

I don't know much about Québec's economy, but would they be able to support themselves very well? Really Alberta is the only province that could support itself on it's own, and that is only because of the oil.

Can we just eliminate thier culture entirely to kill two birds with one stone?

The world tends to look down on genocide.