OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada's Parliament recognized Quebecers as a nation within a united Canada on Monday, backing a controversial proposal that has already prompted one minister in the minority Conservative government to quit.

 

The House of Commons, Parliament's elected chamber, voted 266 to 16 in favor of the motion, which the government said it saw as a way to head off pressure from separatists who want to break away from Canada.

 

But critics said the proposal could actually bolster the separatists, and the pro-independence Bloc Quebecois said it would use the change to demand extra powers, including Quebec's right to speak at international meetings.

 

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong resigned over the vote, and said the separatists would use it to sow confusion.

 

"I believe in this great country of ours, and I believe in one nation, undivided, called Canada," Chong, whose cabinet brief included Ottawa's ties with Quebec and Canadian provinces, told a news conference.

 

"They (the separatists) will argue that if the Quebecois are a nation within Canada, then they are certainly a nation without Canada."

 

Chong's resignation does not threaten the government's survival, but it does underline political tensions over the status of Quebec, which has already held two closely contested referendums over whether to break away from Canada.

 

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper drafted the motion last week in response to one from the Bloc that recognized Quebecers as a nation, but did not include the words "within a united Canada."

 

Chong said he remains a Conservative member of Parliament and was loyal to Harper.

 

He was the first minister to leave the cabinet since Harper defeated the Liberals in January. Chong quit after the government said it would dismiss cabinet ministers if they did not vote for the proposal.

 

French-speaking Quebec already calls its legislature the Quebec National Assembly and calls Quebec City its national capital.

 

"It won't change anything in their day-to-day lives," Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, a leading Quebec legislator, insisted during Parliamentary debate. "It won't give Quebecers more powers."

 

Many Canadian politicians have welcomed the motion as a way of mollifying Quebecers. But others said it risked opening the door to the break-up of Canada down the road.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061128/wl_nm/politics_quebec_dc

I'm from Quebec, but I don't think anyone remotely cares.

 

The whole thing is a joke, anyway.

I'm curious, how do some of our Canadian members feel about Quebecs nationalist aspiriations? Quebec is the industrial heart of Canada and I wonder if they ever did break away how well the remainder of Canada would survive. Also is language really at the root of the issue? I live in South Florida and there have been a number of attempts to make Spanish the official language for local governments particularly in Dade (Miami) County. I always point to the situation in Canada as an example of why this is a bad thing. When one group/region/political entity begins to divorce itself culturally from the whole, national identity will be inevitably lost and a schisim is only a matter of time.

 

It's a little different in Canada because the French heretige in Quebec predates the nation itself whereas the spanish influx in South Florida is a relatively recent thing historicly speaking.

Je dois aller a la salle de bain!!

Je dois aller a la salle de bain!!

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ZOMG?!!

 

Is that the code to attack? That's the code to attack, isn't it?!? If only I took more than a semesters worth of French.

C'est vrai, monsieur Kumquatq3.

Je m'appelle Jean

Actually, Quebec is good for Canada. They have a lot of strip clubs down there.

And Quebec is one of only two cities in Canada that still prefer plain old heroin to prescription drugs as their leading favorite illegal drug.

Heroin is so pass

But not in Quebec, see? The other city is Drakens' hometown, I think. :ph34r:

After that happened, now the BC premier is campaigning to have the first nations people declared a nation. Then eventually the asian community of BC will want it too. And there isn't even any sort of benefit from it.

I wish Quebec would just leave, and be done with. It be a struggle for Kanada at firts; but it would manage. Quebec has proven time, and time agaon to be too bigoted for this great nation.

Actually, for those of you who don't really have an accurate picture of how Quebec operates within the rest of the country, please refer to the closest description available on film. It's a true picture of the way we roll up here, dawgs.

After that happened, now the BC premier is campaigning to have the first nations people declared a nation. Then eventually the asian community of BC will want it too. And there isn't even any sort of benefit from it.

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I thought that the first nations people were already considered a nation.

Quebec doesn't have any of Canada's oil reserves, right?

 

If not, let em leave.

 

 

EDIT: I can see this kinda thing happening in American SW eventually.

 

Except there would prolly be troops on the ground already

Edited November 28, 200619 yr by kumquatq3

Quebec doesn't have any of Canada's oil reserves, right?

 

If not, let em leave.

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No, they have our supply of beer and hookers though.

But not in Quebec, see?  The other city is Drakens' hometown, I think. :ph34r:

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Vancouver is full of drugs. Drugs! DRUGS DRUGS DRUGS.

 

But in all seriousness, Montreal has great strip clubs. I went there for a week for the Comedy Festival? Man. I am dimly aware of asking a Spanish man for a lap dance, confusing him for a latina stripper. Good times.

 

I don't really care much for politics, so I don't really mind the francophones and their sovereignty. I highly doubt it will lead to the downfall of Canada as a country.

 

And naw, the flatlands have all the oil. Damn Prairie dogs, keeping all the reserves for themselves...I'm looking at you, Kor!

I really hope that Quebec doesn't get invited to any more international meetings then. That would serve them right. And we should charge them a quarter every time they have to say, write or type the word 'Canada' as federal revenue for the rent on the land.

No, they have our supply of beer and hookers though.

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War.

I got an idea! Maybe you can make a sort of French-Canadian reservation! Then you can gentle nudge them to go there. Trust me, works out great for everyone involved.

No, they have our supply of beer and hookers though.

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War.

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The World is a Ghetto!?

 

I really hope that Quebec doesn't get invited to any more international meetings then. That would serve them right. And we should charge them a quarter every time they have to say, write or type the word 'Canada' as federal revenue for the rent on the land.

That'd be pretty boss hogg, but then they might charge us for saying words like "poutine' and "carnivale".

 

If The Q did split, something tells me they wouldn't really be taken seriously by other governments. Maybe it's just me and memories of a childhood where the little guy is the prime teasing material, but I mean, they don't really have much to offer as a country. No real exporting materials, a government that doesn't seem to me like they have any idea what they're doing...

You know how Canada is referred to as America's little brother? Well, Quebec would be like, the little little brother, like, toddler style. Everyone would still think of them as Canadians.

 

Again...I'm not too big into political arguments...I'm just saying what I think in the basest of terms.

I echo your last statement, Draken. Let's see if the UN really accepts them or were just blowing smoke up their ass every time they'd roll through Quebec.

on the way to the strip clubs

I once played BG2 online with a gal in Quebec. Some of you might remember a Julia from the Black Isle forums in the later days, about a year before the move to Interplay. No idea what she's up to now, but probably still finding time for games.

Do you live in Quebec, Deraldin?

edit: this thread is a good a place as any to break out this classic:

don't mind me, I'll get it right one of these times

Edited November 28, 200619 yr by Kor Qel Droma

Would quebec like some american states? PLEASE!?

 

Admittedly I'd prefer it if Cali somehow secceded and dropped the US's economy like a wet paper bag.