Friday, October 7, 2011

Separatists Destroy Sovereignty Movement

A depressing time for militant sovereigntists...
It's natural after an electoral massacre that the defeated party take the time necessary to take stock of the loss, reassess its position and fashion a new long-term plan to get back into the electorate's favour.

We're seeing this with the federal Liberal Party and while we cannot estimate the success of this long-term endeavour, it is the only course of action open to them, short of disbanding or merging with the Ndp.

It was to be expected that the same would occur on a broader basis within the sovereignty movement, after the crushing defeat of the Bloc Quebecois in the last federal election.

The rather blunt and brutal rejection of the Bloc was a shock to the separatist system and after a short period of aimlessness and rage, one would expect the separatists to embark on the same course of action as the federal Liberals.

But it hasn't happened.

In trying to make sense of the absolute chaos in the sovereigntist movement that we see today, we should understand that the election loss was as traumatic to hard-core separatists as either of the referendum losses, probably worse.
Militants came out of each referendum defeated but uncowed, secure and confident that they could do better next time. In other words, the referendum defeats could be viewed as a stepping stone towards future success.

But there's no way for separatists to put a positive spin on last May's debacle, it represents an enormous  step backward at the least and a fatal setback at the worst.

Instead of sucking it up, as the Liberal party is doing, the separatist movement has imploded, with factions spinning off in all directions in a monumentally stupid spiral of self-destruction. It reminds me of the Challenger space shuttle disaster where before our eyes, the aircraft blew up with parts blasted in all directions, the loosened rockets engines continuing to fire at full throttle, racing towards an ignominious end.

The separatist movement has embarked in an auto-destructive and out of control blame-a-thon and like a wild cafeteria food fight in high school, once started, there's no stopping it.

Militants, unwilling to accept the reality that the referendum option was rejected by its hitherto solid base, EVEN avowed separatists, created an alternate reality, one where the election loss could be blamed on the Parti Quebecois for not pushing the sovereignty and referendum option hard enough, instead of facing the truth, that the separatist option had lost favour.

Hmm...
Like an alcoholic who believes that his salvation lies in drinking more booze, militant sovereigntists pushing the fantasy that Quebecers need to discuss sovereignty more, are to be pitied rather than mocked.

With the Bloc decimated and its leader leader Gilles Duceppe withdrawing from the political scene, it fell to Pauline Marois to become the political fall-gal and so she and her party, were left holding the bag for the electoral debacle.  
Like a boss blaming the sales and marketing team because people are no longer interested in an outdated product, separatists concocted the idea that by blaming Pauline and the PQ, they could avoid facing the truth, preferring to believe the fantasy that with a couple of tweaks and adjustments, sovereignty can be revived.

And so the sovereignists have come to the unlikely conclusion that the PQ has to go.

As a federalist, I can only rub my hands in glee at the monumental stupidity and encourage them good luck in their endeavors.
Could you imagine the long-suffering Toronto Maple Leaf fans, after years of frustration, firing all the players and then bringing up the entire Marlies (minor league affiliate) roster to replace them, hoping they'll do better?

Ironically, those now destroying the sovereignist movement are its most ardent supporters. The cast of hardliners wreaking wanton destruction on the movement reads like a who's who.

Here's a brief rundown of the cast of Benedict Arnolds and their contribution the demise of the sovereignty movement.

The Three Rats
Beaudoin, Curzi and Lapointe. An undertone of nastiness
The  first to abandon ship were the trio of disloyal Parti Quebecois rats, each with a particular and personal reason to destroy Pauline Marois.
The first of these three is the frustrated wife of Jacques Parizeau, Lisette Lapointe, a nasty sort who remained a miserable pain in the side of Pauline from the beginning. Representing the Parizeau faction of the party, she worked tirelessly to undermine the leader.
For Louise Beadoin, the bane of Anglophones for over thirty years, the party had grown too 'authoritarian'. This from the most authoritarian hardliner Anglos have ever suffered under.
And then there is Pierre Curzi, the lowest of the low, who made no bones about his motives. He wasn't even shy to admit that he was leaving the party in order to destroy Marois so he could return later as leader.... the ultimate definition of a rat!

The Dreamer
Next to leave the PQ was MNA Jean-Martin Aussant,  a hardline sovereigntist who said he was disappointed with the decision to downplay sovereignty in hopes of winning electoral support.
"In my opinion there is no bad timing to talk about sovereignty, there are only bad messengers,"
Mr. Aussant later announced that he'd be starting up a new separatist party, one that would put a bigger emphasis on sovereignty (and split the vote.)
Again, good luck with that.....

The Mouvement Nouveau Québec
Frustrated hardliners decided to launch an alternate 'rainbow' coalition of separatists, one which would regroup all those who ardently believed in an independent Quebec and who pledged to work harder to convince Quebecers to support the Independence project.
The only problem is that they offered nothing in terms of policy to further that aim. In fact the only solution they tabled was the concept that a more frank and open discussion about sovereignty should be undertaken. Ugh!
After a founding convention in Montreal that attracted just three to four hundred people, this after massive publicity, the second meeting in Quebec City attracted less than a sixth of that total!
Since then, we've heard nothing more from this group and it's clear that the anti-PQ movement is foundering badly, as the inital energy seems to be gone.

Bernard Drainville
Even within the PQ caucus itself, there lies a certain desperation that things must change. A hitherto stalwart of the party, Bernard Drainville undertook a consultation with his constituents that led to a publication of proposed changes to Quebec's democracy.
The document had the gravitas of a closing memorandum of a high school mock Parliament.
Mr. Drainville embarrassed himself by making 10 ridiculous proposals meant to re-invigorate Quebec democracy, including the right of citizens to trigger their own binding referendums, on any subject,  by way of a petition bearing 15% of the electorates signatures.
He then proposed that the whole British parliamentary system be changed and that Quebecers vote directly for the Premier. Link{FR}
Stupid and desperate propositions came from all quarters of the party, in a lame attempt to deflect the current debate.
Matane MNA  Pascal Bérubé proposed that regular citizens be brought into Parliament to question politicians during question period and that an independent committee be established to verify if the government was living up to its electoral platform. LINK{FR}
Even Pauline Marois got into the deflection game, proposing an Estates General (public consultative meetings) to discuss a new sovereignty strategy, exactly what the public is dying for!!

If there is one term that both francophone and anglophones share to describe what is going on in the sovereignty movement, it is this- Free-for-all.

Readers, we are witnessing the end of the sovereignty movement as a political force. It has come to that!

It's true that there will always be a large minority of Quebecers who believe in sovereignty, but most of them have come to the realization that the project is no longer doable.

The next government of Quebec will not be run by the PQ, sovereigntists have botched any opportunity of that.
Had the PQ formed the next government, there might have been the slimmest of chance of re-igniting the independence movement. Because of the delay, the political realities of immigration will come into play and the last nail in the coffin of independence will be hammered in place.

Since the last referendum in 1995 and the next theoretical date possible for a referendum, say in the year 2018, Quebec will have accepted over a million new immigrants, 95% who will vote in favour of Canada.

The numbers just don't work and so.... the party's over.

Independence is no longer an option.

The mayhem in the sovereigntist movement that we are witnessing is nothing more than an energetic death rattle, a sad and desperate attempt to somehow stave off the inevitable.

Quebec is embarking on a new era, what it will be remains to be seen, but it will not include an Independence option.

27 comments:

  1. Hopefully in this new era, Quebec will once again rightfully take a leadership role in Canada and how it's governed. For too long Quebec has been yelling and stamping it's feet in another room doing its own thing while the rest of the country has been moving forward steadily balancing between forces on the Right and the Left. Canada, consistently ranks in the top three best counties in the World to live. Time for all of us, from coast to coast, to start paddling in the same direction and make this country even stronger.

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  2. The vision you propose about Québec and RoC is BS. If you want to know more and able to read the superior language :

    http://lejournaldemontreal.canoe.ca/journaldemontreal/chroniques/mathieubockcote/archives/2011/10/20111006-085600.html

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  3. @Anon 10:01

    :)

    @Anon 9:17

    It may be BS to you but it's crude reality, and you better get used to it. You know, trying to sabotage your country and trying to destabilize it could be interpreted as terrorism... It's time to realize that Q will never be independent.

    @Editor

    Nice article. There will be a huge debate on this :) and hate will be presented in different forms ... see 9:17 AM

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  4. To Anon 9:17, that JdeM article is pure BS. The musings of yet another angry and frustrated white French man watching his dream of independence sail further away. Have you ever set foot in another province? Do you have any connections (friends,family) outside of Quebec? Do yourself a favour and go out West for a couple of weeks and learn something about your country.

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  5. To Anon 10:01

    Superior in complexity. Stupid half-american.

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  6. @Anon 10:18

    So let all speak Chinese , because it's superior , right?
    So the fact that french is superior to English, the anglophones are second class citizens? And they should be treated like so?

    FYI, because french is superior hence harder, it will never reach the popularity of English for international use :) ... see Hindi, Chinese, ... over 1 billion speakers. International use, 0. ( maybe in 50-100 years when we all be grey, maybe then we will use one of these two :) :) )

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  7. It's a shame...

    René Lévesque had a great vision for the province and its people.

    Unfortunately, ignorant racist extremists took his vision and ideas and transformed them into what we know today: a hatred of anyone who's different or more educated.

    I'm wrong you say?
    This entire article is about the sovereignty movement, and yet the first Vigile member to post a comment had to mention the language issue. It's a good representation of how these people think.

    It's shocking that Jacques Parizeau is still considered a hero by some.. It's amazing that his views and opinions are still broadcast throughout the medias.
    Is there anywhere else in North America where racism and substance abuse is encouraged and idolized? I guess that's Quebec.

    On va les avoir les maudits anglais!

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  8. Just remember a thorough Post Mortem should happen and all Quebeckers should be part of this meeting - a sort of truth and reconciliation commission (yeah, I know eyes roll at the C word). I have received so many death threats for this translation and hate mail that I do not care anymore, the rest of QC has to understand the folly: http://www.sqlservercentral.com/blogs/hugo/archive/2010/09/30/when-the-bloc-qu-233-b-233-cois-is-a-nuisance-for-quebeckers-interests-the-top-20-countdown.aspx
    And clean up their mess too by gutting Bill 101 or writing a replacement for it that recognises the reality of a Bilingual Quebec that they have tried to repetitively wipe out! See you on the Sixteenth of October to participate in the 3rd Rally/Walk to abolish Bill 101, Norman Bethune statue, corner of Guy and de Maisonneuve at Noon.
    Thanks again Editor

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  9. @Hugo Shebbeare:

    That top 20 is great, good job.

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  10. @ Anonymous:

    "If you want to know more and able to read the superior language"

    Hardly. French gives inanimate objects male and female genders, which is rather silly. There are also many, many more words within the English vocabulary.

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  11. So French is a superior language because of its complexity? Latin language is more complex than French. See how good a proficiency in Latin works in the business world, outside of Catholic Church.

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  12. 'superior language' ...it takes a small mind to make a comment like that, but then again, such a comment is typical of a certain segment of the French speaking Quebec population, who has been brainwashed into thinking French is superior.

    What a joke? I am what these jokers would call 'pur laine' and I don't even live in Québec anymore, because of these types who define themselves by their language... but are really hardcore socialists and worshipers of the nanny state, who have been brainwashed into believing anything their provincial government tells them.

    The Québécois are lost, and they don't even know it.

    French is not superior to English. It is the other way around.

    English is the language of Common Law, and Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights and the Golden Rule.

    English is the language of freemen and freedom and rights and liberties.

    French is the language of aristocrats, bourgeois and peasants.

    This emphasis on French has been a huge disservice to the French speaking Québécois, by confining them to a false paradigm Anglo -vs- Franco, and keeping them in this controlled state of ignorance, as the province became more and more socialist.

    French speaking Québécois are stuck in a time warp, being spoon fed the same nonsense by Gesca and Quebecor over and aver and over.

    Those that learn English and then have access to the wealth of information in English have a totally different outlook on life.

    But those that believe that you are better by knowing less, are just that, ignorant.

    A province of ignorant sheeps.

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  13. To my dear fellow contributors:

    By responding to Mr. Superior Language, Appuyez le 9 and others, you're giving these half wits exactly what they want--an audience.

    When it's all said and done, there is NO superior language on Earth, and if there ever was, it probably originated in the Middle East where the first know civilizations seemed to start.

    If ANY language can be labelled superior today, it's English. It's probably the easiest language to learn to speak and write badly and still be at least somewhat understood. This was how Reed Scowen put it in his book.

    Many research papers written for international consumption by French universities are written in English. Score one for English. The official lanaguage of 3 of the G7 nations is English as opposed to two for French, and that second French speaking nation is Canada where most of the French is concentrated into one region of Eastern Canada. Score another superior point for English.

    Besides the G7, English is spoken in affluent nations like Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and most of the Pacific Island nations. French is spoken in mostly poor African nations under dictatorships, Haiti (the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere) and other banana republics mostly run by other dictatorships.

    France has run deficits for over four straight decades (much like Quebec), and France, like Quebec, makes scapegoats of its immigrants and has a policy of accommodation like the one started in Hérouxville. Charles Degaulle, the French president who at one time had the world's biggest nose, stuck it in Canada's business with his «vive le Québec libre» b.s. Why he did that only tells me the French are big s--t disturbers. It's not as if France would have financially supported Quebec had separation been successful. In all probability, they would have treated Quebec more like a backwater than any English society could ever dream of, and exploit Quebec for all its natural resources and any other riches, leaving Quebec in worse shape than the worst First Nations reservation in Canada.

    Australia may have started out as a society of exiled undesirables, but they turned it into a pretty good nation.

    I think that says it all, it's fact, and let those separatist, racist bozos rant and rave all they want. The best thing the rest of us can do is let them rant, let them rave, and completely ignore anything and everything they write, and let the editor post their rants and raves. At least he plays fair unlike vigile and other blogs belonging to the half wits of what is little more than France's backwater. THEY censor anything and everything they don't like to read.

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  14. ''- "Chaque Film, chaque maison, chaque poème, chaque robe, chaque chanson que nous créons fait exister le Québec, un peu plus chaque jour. Nos chefs d'œuvres , comme nos cochonneries. Parce que ce sont nos cochonneries. Le Québec existe dans nos rêves. Par nos rêves. Et le jour où nous cesserons de rêver, le pays mourra." (Falardeau)

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  15. Pierre Falardeau was a chain smoking racist evil little man. I feel pity on the maggots that were unfortunate enough to chomp down on his toxic nicotine laced carcass (unless of course he was incinerated). 

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  16. The separatist movement will no longer reach the heights that it has for the simple reason that the world is ever-more hyper-connected. We live in a multicultural and multilingual society. We must recognize that all individuals are 'individuals' with their own beliefs. Everyone has fundamental rights and the State has no right to make a person or a group of people adopt an ideology that they have packaged and manufactured.

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  17. Haïti chérie dit: Steve, même si nous vivons dans un monde ayant des liens forts, les états-nations existent toujours. Je ne vois pas pourquoi ça serait différent avec le Québec ! Les Québécois représentent une nation et ils ont le droit à l'autodétermination, point final. Sinon, à ce compte on devrait saborder le Canada puisque c'est également multiculturel et plurilingue comme état. Et pourquoi pas les États-Unis, les pays européens ?

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  18. Five years ago I met someone who was very high up within the Parti Quebecois hierarchy when I was visiting far northern Quebec. This individual had held several cabinet posts in past PQ governments. He said that the window of opportunity for Quebec independence had passed and that sovereignty was very unlikely.

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  19. Anon Oct 7, 9:17am, "complexity" doesn't make a language superior. If anything, it can lead to its demise.

    On the other hand, the strength of a language, if at all, can best be measured with the population speaking it and the economic prowess associated with the language. The Chinese and English speakers have both the numbers and economic clout... the Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic speakers have the numbers, the Dutch, Germans, and Scandinavians have the economy...

    The French have less and less of either. Is "complexity" all that's left?

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  20. "...the Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Arabic speakers have the numbers, the Dutch, Germans, and Scandinavians have the economy..."

    Vous auriez donc abandonné votre identité polonaise pour des raisons économiques?
    Vous êtes une bien petite personne adski.

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  21. "abandonné votre identité polonaise pour des raisons économiques?"

    Just because I don't consider my language and culture superior and don't try to impose it others does not mean I abandoned it. On the contrary, in fact.

    The difference between us is that where I see no fault in my culture yet find no need to "promote" it, you people flip flop from feeling insecure to overly proud. One minute you feel inferior, the next minute you spew out nonsense about superiority. The cries for help for the threatened culture are immediately followed by expressions of fake pride, posturing, claims of "superiority", etc...

    Unlike you, I respect my language and culture, and prove it with my behavior. You don't respect yours, and prove it likewise.

    "Vous êtes une bien petite personne adski. "

    Sorry, but isn't this what the govt of QC wants of the immigrants? For them to abandon their cultures for the sake of la société québécoise?

    Yes, people who abandon their cultures are small. But so are the ones who hide their fascist tendencies behind their culture.

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  22. "Just because I don't consider my language and culture superior and don't try to impose it others does not mean I abandoned it."

    Maybe that's true for Polish but what about your adopted language, English? Not trying to impose it?
    This is the same adski who said in the past that he wants anglophones to become the majority. If that's not wanting to impose a language, I don't know what is. I can find the old comments to prove it.

    "Unlike you, I respect my language and culture, and prove it with my behavior. You don't respect yours, and prove it likewise."

    Yeah well one thing's for sure, you don't respect ours.

    "For them to abandon their cultures for the sake of la société québécoise?"

    And you want us to abandon our culture - despite having been here for a longer period of time and being more numerous - for the sake of immigrants like you who don't want to join us and want to live in English without having to move to an English province.

    If you moved to the French-speaking part of Switzerland, would you insist on living in German? Does anyone do that there? Doesn't make sense? Then why are some doing it here?
    If you don't want to lose your language then don't immigrate. We didn't immigrate, that's the difference. You did. Don't expect your grandchildren to still speak Polish. Assimilation is inevitable for immigrants. The QC government is no different than others on that matter. As if the Canadian government doesn't want immigrants to abandon their languages...

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  23. "Quebec is embarking on a new era, what it will be remains to be seen, but it will not include an Independence option."

    This is the kind of talk that was common in the late eighties, when some people quit the PQ (just like more recently) and the Quebec Liberals had a majority and Mulroney was prime minister... then a few years later, the PQ had a majority, almost won a referendum and Mulroney's party... well, you know what happened.

    Just goes to show that it can change quite quickly.
    I, for one, do not believe that separatism will go away.
    Pauline will quit. Duceppe will take over the PQ.
    Years of a conservative government will change everything and make separation popular again.
    People will realize the NDP is a bunch of people with little experience who cannot beat the conservatives. They might not want to go back to the Bloc again and instead will find no other option than to vote for independence on the provincial level. The whole NDP thing is basically giving one last chance to federalism.
    It's not like Charest's Liberals will rule forever. These corruption scandals might eventually make them as unpopular as the federal Liberals.
    Considering all that, does federalism really have a bright future?

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  24. “Maybe that's true for Polish but what about your adopted language, English? Not trying to impose it?”

    I don’t consider English “my” language. It just a language I learned that serves me as a useful tool and skill, just like being able to swim or walk. I have absolutely no emotional attachment to it.

    Do I impose it? How? I have NEVER forced anyone to speak English to me. People who do not want to speak English to me have a choice of not talking to me. And ion some cases, I accommodate them in French, if they're nice, or if I have no choice.

    However, I never approached anyone and made him/her speak English.

    How do I impose English?

    -----

    “Yeah well one thing's for sure, you don't respect ours.”

    It is irrelevant what I think about your language or culture. It is relevant what you think about it. And the fact that you don’t have an iota of respect for it is sad. Your disrespect for your own culture is evident in how you treat it like an invalid who needs “assistance” and “protection”, often in a form of coercive legislation. Also, your disrespect shows in how you use your language instrumentally in order to peddle a political agenda.

    ----

    “Don't expect your grandchildren to still speak Polish. Assimilation is inevitable for immigrants.”

    Not true. The best example – the Italian community of Montreal. I’ve met 3rd generation Italians who are fluent in the Italian language and are very attached to the country of their ancestors. Many are perfectly trilingual, btw.

    This is the example I will follow in raising my son. Not the example of my gf’s best friend for example, who is 1st generation Canadian (Polish background), speaks no word of Polish, crappy English, and VERY Quebecois French.

    If my son grows up to be like this, I will consider it a big failure on my part.

    -----


    “If you moved to the French-speaking part of Switzerland, would you insist on living in German?”

    I don’t know. Who cares.

    ----

    “The QC government is no different than others on that matter. As if the Canadian government doesn't want immigrants to abandon their languages...”

    Governments and nation-states in general are by nature coercive and fascistic entities. I do believe, however, that the Canadian government does promote some sort of multiculturalism.

    The difference between QC and Canada/US in therms of language is that those governments do not have to try overly hard to “impose” English on their immigrants. The immigrants pretty much want to pick up English on their own.

    In QC, it’s a bit different with French. There are a few reasons why this is, but it’s a topic for a new discussion.

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  25. "This is the same adski who said in the past that he wants anglophones to become the majority"

    I don't think I said "anglophones". I think I said "non-francophones". You can check back if you like (I don't feel like doing it), but I wouldn't have said "anglophones".

    In my case, neither anglo nor franco majority is in my interest since I'm neither franco nor anglo, although the fact that my English is a bit stronger than French might make it a bit easier and more comfortable for me to live under an anglo majority...BUT, it wouldn't be ideal either...

    A sort of allo/ethnic majority would be ideal, in my case. A political separation of Montreal from the rest of Quebec would achieve it, and create a more egalitarian balance between the three groups (allo, anglo, franco), as opposed to the current situation where Montreal, the economic hub of the province and less than half francophone, falls under the jurisdiction of the regions, which through the uneven electoral system send an overrepresented share of MPs to the national assembly.

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