Pauline Marois waves religious Quebec flag. Here is the heraldic origins of the Quebec Flag. “The Fleurdelisé takes its white cross from the ancient royal flags of France. Its white fleurs-de-lis (symbols of purity) and blue field (symbolizing Heaven) come from a banner honouring the Virgin Mary, reputedly carried by French-Canadian militia at General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm's victory at Carillon. Contrary to popular belief, the white fleurs-de-lis are not taken from the banner of the kings of France who used golden ones”. Source: Wikipedia
The Charter of Quebec Values: Pauline Marois’ new road to a separate Quebec.
by Tom Thorne
Quebec separatism now has a new propaganda label. It’s the proposed Charter of Quebec Values. Separatists will do almost anything to bring about a separate Quebec or keep the Federal Government on edge. They will tread on the rights of minorities in the name of secularizing the province but the real long term agenda is to take Quebec out of Canada.
How do the Pauline Marois separatists intend to do that?
They know that two years out there will be a Federal Election and they are making all this fuss now to galvanize their rural Quebec separatist support base and show they have teeth to more moderate separatists who usually fence sit on doing the ultimate deed. This is the “Distinct Society” group. Any federal challenge or disagreement with the Charter of Quebec Values will be seen as a slap in the face to the wishes and ambitions of the Quebecois.
The Marois government’s plan is first to destroy the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) grip on seats in the Parliament of Canada. Then they want to eliminate the six federal Conservative seats and make certain that the federal Liberal party does not ever rise again in Quebec. They hope to fragment the Federal presence in Quebec and create a situation where all federal political parties must react negatively to their secular set of values.
Well that part has worked. All federal political parties and their leaders have come out against the Charter of Quebec Values because they can never be Canadian values as spelled out in the Canadian Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Premier Marois has set in motion a divisive debate designed to show that the federal political parties are reactionary to ill-defined Quebec values. It’s the oldest propaganda trick in the separatist book.
It’s all so patently obvious. However the brunt of all this political playacting will be real stress for Quebec minorities who value their religious traditions as part of their heritage not only as Sikhs, Muslims and Jews but as Canadians who live and in many cases are born Quebeckers.
Such acts of insensitivity to others is shocking to the Canadian commitment to multiculturalism . Naturally it will get a response from all federal politicians. However, in my view the return tactic is not to respond to Pauline Marois’ government as they would like. What would throw the Marois government off would be a counter attack against separatism.
The logic is good for this anti-separatist attack. The message goes like this. Why does Quebec need to pick on minorities to present their separatist message? The Marois government will deny that what they are doing this to create a climate for separatism.
Then show clearly that separatists take on their own minority citizens to pick a fight with Ottawa. They know that Canadians (including Quebeckers who see themselves as Canadians) must react to this kind of affront to basic human rights.
Let’s take the federal message to the issue of separatism where the true objectives of the Marois government lie. Make her come clean. Ask her if she will invoke the Canadian Constitution’s notwithstanding clause to keep her Charter of Quebec Values alive if there is a case to strike it down on the way to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Ask her what she has done recently to revive the Quebec economy. Bring up issues of a separate Quebec’s economic woes and the inability of properly fund public services after separation from Canada. Ask her how the present Constitution of Canada protects the language, law, culture and religion of Quebec citizens. Ask her when her government is going to formally sign the Constitution and commit fully to Canada.
In short give no quarter to separatism, or its slippery cousin Sovereignty Association or attacks on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms with Marois’ Charter of Quebec Values.
Ask this government to account for attacks on minorities and the xenophobic notions they have of protecting Quebec values. Quebeckers know that Canadian values are a lot better than divisive tactics of separatists whose main objective to take Quebec on the road out of Canada at the expense of its minorities. Ask if the separation ever works how they can live with doing it on the backs of Quebec minorities.
If a separate Quebec has to do this kind of thing to maintain Quebec values then frankly those alleged Quebec values are not worth protecting. This is a shameful exercise to create stress on the Canadian fabric and it should be called for what it really is. It is clearly the rise yet again of the separatist agenda.
© Copyright 2013, Tom Thorne, All Rights Reserved
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