[Opinion] Quebec is independent in a united Canada

“A nation is a soul, a spiritual principle, […] Shared possession of a rich heritage of memories […]. Desire to live togetherThe courage to continue affirming the inheritance we have received is undivided. Presence The nation is a referendum. —Ernest Renan

With the national holiday approaching, it is appropriate to reflect on our collective future, assess the mileage traveled on the road to freedom and consider the efforts we still have to make.

On November 15, 1976, I was eighteen and voted for the first time. After that I had the intimate feeling of being involved in something big and beautiful at the same time. I dreamed of freedom and independence for Quebec. With the election of the first sovereign government, I very naively believed that the people had embarked on a process of national liberation.

Then came the May 20, 1980 referendum, without being too harsh as the question about the authorization to negotiate was soft. The resulting political weakness in Quebec opened the door for Trudeau Sr., who had promised Quebecers change…

This is how Quebec found itself in 1982 with a constitution that denied the national existence of Quebecers and weakened the powers of the National Assembly. It is not trivial to point out that the Canadian Constitution of 1982 was not supported by any political party in Quebec.

The 1987 Meech Agreement was intended to help correct the constitutional insult of 1982. I remember as if yesterday the strong and dangerous words of Robert Bowers on June 22, 1990 in the National Assembly, in the wake of Meech’s failure: “English must understand Canada very clearly That whatever we say and whatever we do, Quebec is today and forever a privileged, free and capable society of its own destiny.”

At this very moment in our history, I thought the state of Quebec was close at hand. But the battered Bowers tempered by his discounted acceptance of the so-called indigestible porridge in Charlottetown, which had the notable effect of underestimating the privileged community, in a Canadian clause enshrining provincial equality and multiculturalism. The historical vision of the two founding peoples was just a mirage.

After these last attempts to reform federalism failed, the Paris government, under the influence of Lucien Bouchard, posed the question of the status of Quebec in 1995 primarily in these terms: “Do you accept Quebec becoming a sovereign, having formally offered Canada a new economic and political policy? Partnership… “This latest referendum ended with a slim victory for the rejection.

Since then, the choice of sovereign nations has barely reached the 35% threshold. This option seems to be less relevant for young people. We do not talk about it and we do not talk about it for electoral reasons so as not to frighten people. PQ is directed.

Quebec claims the federal government full powers with regard to immigration. Without a true balance of power as a distinct nation or community within the Canadian framework, Quebec is likely to suffer another pushback. Moreover, Prime Minister Trudeau has twice already rejected this request from Quebec. What will Prime Minister Legault do in the face of a federal “no”?

Moreover, will the federal government’s challenge to Bill 96 on Quebec’s Official and Common Language spark a future confrontation that leads to a constitutional crisis? Of course, Quebecers constitute a nation, and French is the only official language of Quebec. But what is the relative weight of Sections 90.Q1 and 90.Q2 added to the Constitution Act 1867 with respect to multiculturalism, institutional bilingualism, and the principle of equality between the provinces in Canada?

Neither Lévesque, nor Parizeau, nor Bouchard succeeded in convincing Quebecker of the necessity of sovereignty. For many Quebecers, the heart is gone; There were many dashed hopes. Something broke.

Will Prime Minister Legault become the reformer, Brother Andre of the patriotic cause, by turning “no” into “yes”? But how do you get there by surrendering in advance to not using the referendum tool? Doesn’t the path to freedom pass by the blessings of the self?

It seems in the end that Yvonne Deschamps was right in saying that what the people of Quebec want is the independence of Quebecers in a united Canada!

Let’s see in the video