The NDP, led in Quebec by the indomitable "UNCLE TOM" Mulcair is joining forces with separatist forces to protest the Quebec government's proposed Bill 103, the law that will replace Bill 104, struck down by the Supreme Court as illegal.
That law closed a 'loophole' whereby students who didn't qualify for English education could skirt the law by attending an unsubsidized private English school for as little as one year, thus earning qualification for public English education, the next year.
The law that closed this loophole was deemed too harsh and the Quebec government was given a year's reprieve to write a kinder and gentler law.
That they did, but Bill 103 can hardly be labelled kinder and gentler, it is, if anything, much harsher and just as likely illegal.
That being said, for militant language and separatist groups, it's not enough. They are pushing for the use of the "Notwithstanding Clause" to nullify the Supreme Court's decision, something the government is loathe to do as it might present Quebec internationally as repressive.
"They ask us (PQ) to do what they did not want to do when they were in power, aware of the impact on the international stage. When you say you want to make a country, you're not going to walk around saying you're going to bully, in some cases, fundamental freedoms. The whole debate is here. It is the protection of the image of Quebec abroad, "she said.
Nowhere in the NDP literature or any web site (that I could find) is there any mention that they are taking part in this coalition, but as you can see, the NDP logo appears prominently under the advertisement for the big 'spectacle' to be held to protest Bill 103 on September 18th.-Christine St. Pierre Minister of Education LINK(French)
I wonder if any journalist will put the question of whether the NDP supports the use of the Notwithstanding Clause, in relation to Bill 103, directly to Mr. Layton?
We don't need to ask Uncle Tom, he is always front and center, when it comes to shafting Quebec Anglophones..
In joining the coalition, the NDP shares company with the Bloc Québécois, Parti Québécois and Québec Solidaire. Federal separatists, provincial separatists and communist separatists. Wonderful company!
What's more interesting is that the NDP has placed its logo besides the Réseau de Résistance Québécoise and Jeunes Patriotes du Québec, two radical organizations who have either engaged or hinted at violence.
Going down the list we can find the usual suspects of sovereignists, unionists and language militants, not many surprises except for the NDP, who's logo, complete with the Canadian flag, seems a bit out of place.
By the way, I was a bit put off by the inclusion of the Commission scolaire de Montréal, A PUBLIC ORGANIZATION, paid for with tax dollars.
Here is the complete list of members of the the "coalition against Bill 103"
Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal
Mouvement national des Québécoises et Québécois
Commission scolaire de Montréal
Bloc québécois
Parti Québécois
Québec solidaire
Nouveau parti démocratique
Conseil de la souveraineté
Revue de l’Action nationaleLes Intellectuels pour la souveraineté
SPQLibre
Rassemblement pour un pays souverain
Mouvement souverainiste du Québec
Réseau de Résistance québécoise
Jeunes Patriotes du Québec
Mouvement pacifique pour l’indépendance du Québec
Comité action indépendantiste et culturelle québécoise du Cégep du Vieux-Montréal
Mouvement Montréal français
Mouvement Montérégie français
Mouvement Laurentides français
Mouvement Lanaudière français
Impératif français
Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec
Confédération des syndicats nationaux
Centrale des syndicats du Québec
Syndicat de la fonction publique du Québec
Fédération autonome de l’enseignement
Union des artistes
Mouvement des cégépiens pour le français
Comité souverainiste de l’UQAM
Mouvement des étudiants souverainistes de l’UDM
Mouvement étudiant pour le français-UQAM
I wonder how Canadians outside the province of Quebec, feel about the NDP's decision to join in this anti-English, coalition of separatists.
How low can the knee-dippers sink, trolling for votes?
