La Presse Editiorialist Annoys Sovereignists Again

I've taken the liberty to translate an editorial written this week by Andre Pratte, La Presse's resident federalist and foil of every true sovereignist. Read the original text here.

"One of the great mysteries in my life is that it (Quebec independence) has not happened yet," said Bernard Landry at the opening of the documentary 'National Issues', which premiered last night at the Festival des Films du Monde.

But there is nothing really so mysterious about it. The key is actually found in two excerpts from the film.

First, from this speech by René Lévesque in 1970:
"We want to stop being a caricature of poor people in a wealthy society that are manipulated by others."

Then today, about Mr. Landry:
"When I say to foreigners that we are the third largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, they hardly believe it. When I tell them that of the several multinationals that dominate the planet in their area ... the Caisse de depot is the third or fourth largest real estate investor in the world!"

Between these two statements, are four decades of dazzling economic, social and cultural development within the Canadian federation.

Independence? What for?

"For 50 years, 111 countries gained their independence, why not Quebec?" Ask the authors of the documentary.

Because the vast majority of them were imprisoned in colonial regimes that blocked their development and bullied their culture. Independence has appeared in such nations as the only solution. Quebeckers have had time to take another path.

In an interview he gave to National issues, the Bloc Quebecois leader Gilles Duceppe, made a surprising prediction: "What happened to the Franco-Canadians and Acadians, their rapid assimilation, this is what will happen in Quebec. We can not wait 50 years. "


More than six million Francophones assimilated, really?
We've already survived the 'Conquest' and "cultural genocide" which, according to Pierre Bourgault, has beset Quebec since 1867.

There are similarities between the situation in Quebec and two other minority nations, the Catalans and Scots. The parallel between them and us is particularly fascinating. The regional government in Scotland is now run by a separatist party. The Scottish National Party was elected in 2007 after a campaign in which they spoke little about independence. However, the SNP promised a referendum on the subject in 2010, a referendum in which they had chosen a "soft" issue. Does that ring a bell?

In Scotland, independence gets only 28% support, according to the latest survey. The reason for this indifference is simple: Scotland has managed to preserve its culture and thrive in the United Kingdom. However, the Scots, as Quebeckers simply do not see any need to venture into independence.

There is no mystery. -André Pratte La Presse