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"British imperial government" has not been a part of Canadian government since 1931 (and arguably, 1926, with the Balfour Declaration).
Oh, you may have a point with the admission of Newfoundland to Canada in 1949, which required an amendment to the UK's BNA Act 1867; but in that case, the UK parliament did as the Canadian parliament demanded. To put it plainly: the both the UK parliament and the Queen did what Canada told them to.
Don't worry. Your English is much better than my French. I do appreciate that you are making the effort in English, and I apologize that I cannot make the same effort in French.
But government systems--what choices do we have? A Westminster parliament, as we currently have; or a republican democracy such as the United States? And yet, in each, we have representation by population in a House (Commons, as in Canada; or Representatives, as in the US), and a Senate. The Canadian Senate is appointed and does not treat provinces or regions equally (see Canadian Constitution s. 21 et seq.), but the US Constitution has only two senators per state. In other words, Wyoming has the same voice in the US Senate as California. That "same voice in the Senate" is something I think we Canadians should explore.
Of course, the other systems are unthinkable, and I'm sure we can agree on that point. Stalin's USSR? Mao's People's Republic of China? Castro's Cuba? Idi Amin's Uganda? The Kim dynasty's treatment of North Koreans under the Juche doctrine? I think that you and I can agree that these are all unacceptable to Canadians of all political stripes and languages.
Is Canada's system right? Is the US system right? I think "rep by pop" works, though the constitutional limit on representatives in the US doesn't sit well with me--I like how we in Canada can expand our House of Commons according to population. (The US cannot; it is constitutionally restricted to 435 representatives in their House.) As for the Senate, I cannot say.
1) Quebecers don't feel like other Canadians. Okay, fine. And to be honest, in my travels across Canada, I can find commonalities (beyond language) between, say, Newfoundland and Alberta. (Only a few, but they are there.) But with our Quebec friends? Even fewer, and nothing significant.
2) If you do not feel "Canadian" then you should work for independence. But here's the thing: you should work for it from within. You need to know, solidly know, Canadian constitutional law. You should work with Supreme Court precedents as regards constitutional matters. You should (and you're going to hate me for this) ask a very clear question on the next referendum: "Should Quebec be an independent country?" Scotland did this recently; why can't Quebec?
I think anybody in the world community would respect a clear answer to such a clear question. The problem Canada and the world community has had with both past questions (1980 and 1995) is that they are unclear and muddy. Make it unquestionably clear as to what electors are voting for or against, and get a majority. If the majority votes for independence, Canada and the world will go along with you.
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We will never truly be happy with anything in Canada until we are independence that is really our truth if you want to know and I will tell you because you are like a smart guy who knows the real things about our government.
I certainly can empathize with your logic in having the dream of a francophone sovereign country of its own. Over the last 50 years Quebec has done an amazing job in established itself as a true francophone nation that doesnt really need Canada for its survival or its identity, unfortunately the voting majority of your Quebecois comrades are content to remain semi/reluctant Canadians in attitude and are content to be nothing more than a Canadian francophone minority relegated to all the rules and regulations of a Canadian province,
At this point all thats needed is to dot some i's and cross some t's in a fair and honest referendum and you will then have the country and sovereign nation of Quebec standing tall on the world stage.
Best of luck.
Through my work I meet a lot of military personnel and I noticed that a lot of them are Quebecois and Maritimers. It seems like Quebecois, along with Maritimers are over represented in the Armed forces. I obviously don't bring up the subject of Quebec Independence with the people I meet but I can't help but wonder what their feelings are on the subject. I can't see some one in the armed forces being a separatist, but what would these people do if Quebec became independent? Would they stay in some part of Canada and remain loyal to the country they serve? Or would they embrace their new country and move back to the land of their birth? And how would the Armed forces deal with losing such a large pool for recruits? Most of the people I have been able to talk to are from places like Drummondville, Shwanigan, Levis etc etc, none that I have met are from MTL.
There are most definitely people with separatist sympathies in the Canadian military. And in the RCMP. And in CSIS. And in the senior ranks of the federal public service. And at Radio-Canada. (That last one is a big surprise I guess!) I have known people like this in basically every Canadian organization you can name.
Now, in virtually all cases AFAIK these people have always acted as professionals and their political views do not really impact on their work. Their work for Canada is a "here and now" thing whereas Quebec independence is a "what if". They do their jobs and aren't infiltrators out to sabotage Canada.
I know this is probably hard for some people to understand and stomach, especially if they've never been exposed to it. I know it was hard for me to understand and accept until I first started rubbing shoulders with people who had more diverse political views.
I can't see some one in the armed forces being a separatist, but what would these people do if Quebec became independent? Would they stay in some part of Canada and remain loyal to the country they serve? Or would they embrace their new country and move back to the land of their birth? .
Interesting question. I moved to Quebec from Ontario around the time of the 1995 referendum. I didn't go around saying I was moving for linguistic or political reasons. A major factor was was more affordable housing costs, and that's usually what I mentioned as my "reason" for crossing the border. In any event, lots of people (tons in fact) asked me what I'd do if Quebec separated. Would I move back to Canada to remain Canadian if Quebec separated? My answer to that was always that Canada to me without Quebec isn't Canada anymore, so if independence ever did happen, I'd have to reassess my sense of belonging (appartenance).
BTW, even when living in Ontario (or the Maritimes), I always did feel that Quebec was an inextricable part of Canada, and without it Canada pretty much ceases to exist. If it's gone, then for me at least nothing is taken for granted anymore.
An astounding attitude of overblown self importance,elitism and pomposity.
AJ Your franco Ontarian confreres are right,Canada sans Quebec would do just fine,not much would change,news headlines around the world would put a small story in the back of their paper proclaiming a province of Canada has separated,Not a big deal Canada in the global scheme of things would still be Canada, What of Quebec?Hard to say but it will be Quebec that will have to adapt to big changes and not Canada.
An astounding attitude of overblown self importance,elitism and pomposity.
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Now, now jambo. Simmer down. Calm your steed down too. Take one leg out from each stirrup at a time. Take a deep breath.
I was only talking about my own vision of Canada. Though I think you might be surprised at how many people even from outside Quebec think like me.
Is what I wrote really so hard to believe? Do you really know anything about Canadian history at all? Where and how a place called "Canada" originated?
BTW, I am not saying that Quebec is more important than any other province, but its loss would be a huge symbolic blow.
The secession of any province would be a blow to Canada, but surely you can appreciate how for francophones in particular the secession of the province where 85-90% of them live and where almost all of their cultural institutions are located would provoke a serious soul-searching?
Interesting question. I moved to Quebec from Ontario around the time of the 1995 referendum. I didn't go around saying I was moving for linguistic or political reasons. A major factor was was more affordable housing costs, and that's usually what I mentioned as my "reason" for crossing the border. In any event, lots of people (tons in fact) asked me what I'd do if Quebec separated. Would I move back to Canada to remain Canadian if Quebec separated? My answer to that was always that Canada to me without Quebec isn't Canada anymore, so if independence ever did happen, I'd have to reassess my sense of belonging (appartenance).
BTW, even when living in Ontario (or the Maritimes), I always did feel that Quebec was an inextricable part of Canada, and without it Canada pretty much ceases to exist. If it's gone, then for me at least nothing is taken for granted anymore.
A Quebec-less Canada will emerge as a different entity, and definitely much more centralized than it is now (Canada is actually rather DE-centralized)
But significant changes will be undertaken on both sides of the border if Quebec separated.
To be fair Ontario and Maritimes residents will probably feel most that Quebec is a central component of Canada without which it just wouldn't be the same, and perhaps more so the closer they are to Quebec.
AJ Your franco Ontarian confreres are right,Canada sans Quebec would do just fine,not much would change,news headlines around the world would put a small story in the back of their paper proclaiming a province of Canada has separated,Not a big deal Canada in the global scheme of things would still be Canada, What of Quebec?Hard to say but it will be Quebec that will have to adapt to big changes and not Canada.
I've never said that Canada without Quebec would not in fact do just fine, although secession of such a large province would make a small dent in its global prestige I am pretty sure. Although OTOH some around the world will no doubt side with Anglo-Canada and congratulate it on getting rid of its "French" pain in the a$$. Such things are never clear cut, jambo, with the good guys conveniently wearing the white cowboy hat and the bad guys all wearing black ones...
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I do appreciate that you are making the effort in English, and I apologize that I cannot make the same effort in French.
Canada in the global scheme of things would still be Canada, What of Quebec?
Hard to say but it will be Quebec that will have to adapt to big changes and not Canada.
