"Ç#s" <Çons®@minority#
2012-09-05 22:35:02 UTC
Why Quebec went to the separatists again . . . .
__________________________________________________
September 4, 2012
Over to you, Mr. Harper, after PQ victory in Quebec election
The Prime Minister has ignored Quebec at his own peril
Quebec did not vote for an independent Quebec in Tuesday's election. The vote for the Parti
Québécois was a narrow vote for change after nine years of Jean Charest's Liberal government,
that is all. But by electing a minority government headed by Pauline Marois, Quebeckers have
effectively ended the moderation that has characterized relations between Quebec and other
parts of Canada. The insouciance toward Quebec exhibited by the government of Prime Minister
Stephen Harper must also end.
Her hand is limited, but Ms. Marois has made clear that she will demand new powers for her
province. Some of those demands, such as control over employment insurance, might prove
reasonable. Others, over equalization, language and immigration, might not. But, though the
strength of her own mandate for constitutional mischief-making is weak, Quebec's premier-elect
is still at an advantage in any fight with Ottawa because she is facing a federal government
that is not just unpopular in Quebec but betrays an alarming indifference toward it.
This is a good moment for Mr. Harper to define his own vision for Canada. Leadership by case
management will not see the country through a national unity crisis provoked by Ms. Marois. Nor
does his cabinet, or his Quebec caucus of five, have anyone to assume that role were he to
abdicate it.
Mr. Harper prides himself on decentralizing power. Ms. Marois's goal is the total
decentralization of power - or, to put it another way, the centralization of power in Quebec
City. Mr. Harper has tried to ignore Quebec, and now it has come back to haunt him. With little
cabinet strength and very little popular support in Quebec, he will be - unlike previous prime
ministers confronted by the PQ - on his own. He will now face his defining test.
================================================================
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the greater ones to public office
__________________________________________________
September 4, 2012
Over to you, Mr. Harper, after PQ victory in Quebec election
The Prime Minister has ignored Quebec at his own peril
Quebec did not vote for an independent Quebec in Tuesday's election. The vote for the Parti
Québécois was a narrow vote for change after nine years of Jean Charest's Liberal government,
that is all. But by electing a minority government headed by Pauline Marois, Quebeckers have
effectively ended the moderation that has characterized relations between Quebec and other
parts of Canada. The insouciance toward Quebec exhibited by the government of Prime Minister
Stephen Harper must also end.
Her hand is limited, but Ms. Marois has made clear that she will demand new powers for her
province. Some of those demands, such as control over employment insurance, might prove
reasonable. Others, over equalization, language and immigration, might not. But, though the
strength of her own mandate for constitutional mischief-making is weak, Quebec's premier-elect
is still at an advantage in any fight with Ottawa because she is facing a federal government
that is not just unpopular in Quebec but betrays an alarming indifference toward it.
This is a good moment for Mr. Harper to define his own vision for Canada. Leadership by case
management will not see the country through a national unity crisis provoked by Ms. Marois. Nor
does his cabinet, or his Quebec caucus of five, have anyone to assume that role were he to
abdicate it.
Mr. Harper prides himself on decentralizing power. Ms. Marois's goal is the total
decentralization of power - or, to put it another way, the centralization of power in Quebec
City. Mr. Harper has tried to ignore Quebec, and now it has come back to haunt him. With little
cabinet strength and very little popular support in Quebec, he will be - unlike previous prime
ministers confronted by the PQ - on his own. He will now face his defining test.
================================================================
We hang the petty thieves and appoint the greater ones to public office