October 21, 2006
Quebec Liberals call province 'nation'
By ALEXANDER PANETTA
Federal Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae makes a point as fellow candidate Stepahen Dion listens, Saturday in Montreal. (CP/Paul Chiasson)
MONTREAL (CP) - The federal Liberals' Quebec wing endorsed a resolution Saturday that the province is "a nation within Canada" - a concept the party has vigorously opposed for years.
The results could be highly divisive for Liberals. The emotionally charged issue now must be debated and voted upon in December on the floor of their national leadership convention in Montreal.
Several leadership candidates warn that the resolution concept could stir national-unity troubles, while its proponents see it as a way to rebuild the party in Quebec.
Leadership front-runner Michael Ignatieff was among those to welcome the move, which got the endorsement of a crushing majority of delegates Saturday to a gathering of the provincial wing.
Chief rivals Bob Rae and Stephane Dion opposed the motion, even though they said they have no problem considering Quebec a nation, sociologically speaking.
But they suggested that by endorsing the concept, and floating the idea of constitutional reform to enshrine it in law, Ignatieff is playing with fire.
But Ignatieff brushed off the possibility that attempts at constitutional reform will inevitably lead to the same crisis that followed such efforts in the 1980s and early '90s.
"We can't let the failures of the past determine our constituional future together," Ignatieff said.
"Canada has changed since Meech (Lake). Quebec has changed since Meech."
The failure of the Meech Lake accord, and efforts to recognize Quebec as a "distinct society," created East-West tensions, split the Conservative party in half for more than a decade, and led to the near-victory of sovereigntist forces in the 1995 Quebec referendum.
Ignatieff said he would proceed with caution. He said he will wait to see whether the national party adopts the Quebec resolution idea in December, then consider how to move forward.
"It's the first step in a long road, and we have to proceed prudently and wisely."
The idea of considering Quebec a sociological nation within Canada, such as Scotland within Britain or the region of Catalonia within Spain, has become a consensus issue among the province's political class.
Some Liberals suggested Saturday that they stand to gain politically by recognizing what most Quebecers themselves see as a reality.
The sponsorship scandal nearly wiped the Liberals off the Quebec political map in the last election but recent polls suggest they have now passed the Tories in popular support there.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has steadfastly refused to endorse the concept of Quebec as a nation.
Rae said he opposed the resolution not because of his view on whether Quebec could be considered as such, but suggested his rival was opening a Pandora's box.
"I have no particular problem with the formulation of the words, 'Quebec is a nation,' " Rae said.
"Where I part company with some is whether we should be reopening the Constitution at this point in time. I think we all know it's an incredible expenditure of time from the political leadership of the country.
"It's not at all because I don't recognize the collectivity of Quebec, in a sociological sense a nation. There are lots of nations in the country."
Dion offered a similar analysis. The former university professor said he was teaching the concept of a Quebec nation more than a decade ago.
"We could certainly find a definition of the word 'nation' that respects the reality of Quebec. The error isn't there," he said.
"The mistake is to make these semantic debates the centrepiece of a national-unity strategy."
