Ask me about being a Québec separatist

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It seems support for separation from Canada is falling in Quebec, is this true? What are the aims of today's separatist movement in Quebec, still separation? What other major issues are there, can these aims be met within Canada? Why vote for the BQ in federal elections when they can never form a majority? Does real Quebec poutine actually taste good? How long until the Habs win another Cup?

[Hopey]

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And why would Québec's current economy wouldn't be ebough. Why the patronizing?

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Quebec can't support itself now. It requires transfer payments from the Federal Government. Why would it be any different after separation? Especially when you consider all the NEW costs that would be incurred.

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1) Many un-educated separatists still believe that Quebec contributes more to Canada than it receives in return. This myth allows them to believe that they'd be better off without Canada.

2) Some hard-core separatists (such as the OP), know that Canada has been propping up the province of Quebec for decades, but they do not care. They'd happily live in shacks eating dollar-store poutine if it means having their own country.

3) Some seperatists believe that if they seperate, things won't be as good at first, but they'll quickly rebound and be better than ever after a few years. What they're basing this on is anybody's guess.

[CasqueNoir]

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By that argument, Chinatown & Little Italy in Toronto should separate.

So should Newfoundland, which is definitely a distinct culture.

How about the territories? They are very different from the rest of Canada.

My point? This is a dumb argument.

In a country the size of Canada, there's many different cultures, and they are all a part of the country.

[/ QUOTE ]It is insulting to compare an entire people to a mere culture among others. We are an historical people established here for centuries. Like Scotland in UK or Catalogna in Spain.

[DVO]

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casque,
as a result of this thread i went from not really having an opinion on this subject to having the impression that separatists are a bunch of douchebags.

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As a U.S. citizen who lived in Montreal for 3 years, I totally agree.

[JaredL]

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5) Also do you think it is fair that you have twice the amount of seats in parliament compared to Alberta/BC yet the populations are the same.

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Is that true? Holy [censored]!

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Read this thread carefully. Understand why Canadians get so pissed off when Quebecers act like they're so mistreated.

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Zurvan,

I have a close friend from Vancouver. In addition to turning me into a Canucks fan [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img] he has talked at fair length about this.

He tends to place blame on the anglophones though. He feels that they have some weird guilt complex. For example, when Conan O'brien was in Toronto and made some anti-french joke about people in Quebec (I'm guessing your memory of it is better than mine), the main people that were upset were people outside Quebec just trying to be sensitive overzealously.

Either way, that overrepresentation is pretty [censored] up.

Another issue I have is that it's quite clear that people in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Washington, BC, Western Alberta maybe I don't know anyone from there) have more in common culturally than people from Oregon and South Carolina or even Oregon and Pennsylvania (as well as say BC and, say, Nova Scotia). However, nobody actually takes Cascadia claims seriously (most Americans haven't heard of the concept, even Pacific NW people, nobody in Canada seems to take it seriously).

In basically every country, there are major areas of cultural difference relative to the rest of the country. Barring a unique history, such as formerly being a distinct country that was say illegally taken over by the main country, I don't think this is close to reason enough to separate. Economic reasons may even not make it work in those cases.

[JaredL]

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By that argument, Chinatown & Little Italy in Toronto should separate.

So should Newfoundland, which is definitely a distinct culture.

How about the territories? They are very different from the rest of Canada.

My point? This is a dumb argument.

In a country the size of Canada, there's many different cultures, and they are all a part of the country.

[/ QUOTE ]It is insulting to compare an entire people to a mere culture among others. We are an historical people established here for centuries. Like Scotland in UK or Catalogna in Spain.

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Was Quebec itself ever a distinct country? I don't mean a French colony, but its own country.

[Felix_Nietzsche]

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No, Alberta is the most viable, they have the oil. It has been said a number of times that if Quebec wants to survive as a country, especially one that offers the same social safety net as is offered in Canada (especially as was offered about 15 years ago), they would not come close to being able to afford it.

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This implies Quebec is a drain on govt resources (money). Perhaps you should be happy to see them go.

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No, there are a number of reasons. First, practically, it would cost a lot of Canada for Quebec to succeed, they would lose a lot of citizens (tax payers). The federal government would damn near be shut down as dealing with the separation would distract from the everyday responsibilities of the gov't (i.e. the electoral map would have to be redrawn, all comittees dealing with Quebec dismantled, all Quebecers counting on federal programs dealt with, all Aboriginals in Quebec dealt with,...). Federal building/employees in Quebec would have to be moved. Separation movements in the Atlantic provinces as well as in the west would gain steam. The whole idea of the Canadian union will be torn to shreds.

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1. You lose tax payers but you also lose people who consume govt services. This should be a wash and based on your FIRST quote, Perhaps Anglo Canadiens come out the winners.
2. Govt shutdown? I'm sure the administration problems could be solved within 1-2 years. Then you are scot-free. Also it wouldn't hurt for govt workers to actually do some work to earn their pay. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
3. I will gladly redraw the electorial map for Canadiens for a 6-pack of Molsen's Golden.
4. As for federal buildings in Quebec, I don't see a problem. Canada won't be responsible for govt services in Quebec so you won't need those buildings. Perhaps a handful of building may need to be built but this is no big deal.

Let the snail-eaters have their own country....you are better off without them.

[CasqueNoir]

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Don't you think a business owner has the right to display a sign in any language he or she wants?

[/ QUOTE ]Sure, as long as french is present.

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Does a culture truly deserve protection through legislation? Isn't it reasonable that if a culture cannot survive on its own merits then it should fade away?

[/ QUOTE ]I think it is normal for a nation that welcomes a lot of people from around the world to make a statement law like that.

[Zurvan]

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By that argument, Chinatown & Little Italy in Toronto should separate.

So should Newfoundland, which is definitely a distinct culture.

How about the territories? They are very different from the rest of Canada.

My point? This is a dumb argument.

In a country the size of Canada, there's many different cultures, and they are all a part of the country.

[/ QUOTE ]It is insulting to compare an entire people to a mere culture among others. We are an historical people established here for centuries. Like Scotland in UK or Catalogna in Spain.

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So Newfoundland doesn't have a unique culture? They've been there for centuries as well. Did I insult you? Too bad. You're trying to destroy my country.

[mosdef]

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on the plus side we'd save the annual handout they get through equalization each year

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Some of you people really need to learn the difference between a vertical fiscal imbalance and a horizontal fiscal imbalance. The equalization payment to Quebec is an equalization from the feds to the provices - all the provinces.