Canada: Politics: Harper's 2-pronged anti-separatist strategy in Quebec seeks cultural-language justice for 'special' province
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Having taken a critical step further along the path to solve the problem of "fiscal imbalance" between what Federal taxes accrue from a given province (think Quebec, think Ontario), and what that particular province receives back in Fed expenditures, taking that step further in the budget speech of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty earlier this week, now Prime Minister Stephen Harper is working on the outstanding cultural issues obtaining in regard to intergovernmental relations between the Canadian Feds and the governement of the province of Quebec - where a majority of the population speak only French.
Advancing this second prong of his two pronged strategy to open the way for Quebec's more contented participation in Canadian life and its fed politics - thereby outflanking the discredited federal Liberals while boosting Quebec's provincial Liberals as the bulwark against the separatist plan to make Quebec an independent state, Harper was invited to speak to the Quebec National Assembly by Jean Charest's provincial Liberal government. To the outrage of the Parti Quebecois and the fed Libs in Quebec.
The cultural front of the battle contra separatism was addressed today in the National Assembly by Harper's announcement that "Canada would allow the province to play a role in the United Nations' culturtal agency, UNESCO, according to David Ljunggren, reporting for Reuters Canada under the jaundiced headline, "Harper makes more Quebec concessions" (May5,2k6). I say jaundiced, because I regard the Harper move as a matter of simply justice to the distinct cultural and linguistic identity of the province that thereby has special societal connections to the world's other francophone societies. Yet, in that it was acted upon, Harper did make a political move, so call it a "concession" if you think greater cultural justice for Quebec is to be trifledm as does the headline writer at Reuters in its MSM miasma.
On Harper's part, this move was nothing new, rather "it fulfills a promise he made in the run-up to the January 23 (2006) federal election, when his Conservatives won a narrow victory in large part due to unexpectedly high levles of support in Quebec." Yet, it was not "mere" politics today, but a step to accomplish this particular act toward greater cultural justice.
"We are at the dawn of a new era, an era that will see us build a strong, united, free and independent Canada in which a confident, autonomous, proud and unified Quebec can develop its full potential," Harper told Quebec legislators.The article does note the strong connection between Harper and Charest, a provincial Liberal Prime Minister who formerly was as a young man a Minister in the Conservative federal government of Brian Mulroney, then at the party's lowest ebb Leaders of the federal Conservatives. He then switched party's to run for the leadership of the Quebec Liberals, to revive that party, and to defeat the Parti Quebecois. He accomplished all this, but he is not popular these days, even in his own party. This move of Harper will "boost" Charest's prospects. When he finishes up in his present post, maybe Harper will still be around to appoint him to the senate - unless, of course, Harper is able to keep yet another campgain promise - to work to create an elected Senate!
Quebec will now have a permanent representative inside Canada's UNESCO delegation, who will help devise policy.
Still, in all this we should not forget that Quebec's National Assembly is not a legislature of Libs and PQ separatists only. A third small party, Action Democratique de Quebec, is alive and represented in that august chamber. Indeed, ADQ is the party from which the fed Conservs attracted as candidates - and winning canidates in several cases! - to represent Quebec in the new fed governing party. These Members of Parliament from Quebec will be able to claim that they with their ADQ party affiliations provinically - contra both the Bloc Quebecois and the fed Libs - gained the UNESCO special participation for their home privince and its dominant culture and language.
Harper is demonstrarting himself to be be an astute poltician, with a real eye for justice, I conclude. - Politicarp
Further sources:
• Haper's promise to Quebec of international representation on culture and language.
• Agreement signed between Fed Canada and Quebec on UNESCO representation.
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