Posted AT 12:28 PM EST ON 06/03/07
PQ leader: Independent Quebec will be easy to accept
Transition will be more orderly thanks to federal motion recognizing a Quebecois nation, Boisclair says
TU THANH HA AND ALEX DOBROTA
Globe and Mail Update
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070306.wquebec0306/BNStory/National/home
SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU and GATINEAU, Que. ― Following a referendum it will become easier for Quebec to be accepted by the international community, thanks to the House of Commons motion that recognizes the "Québécois" as a nation, Parti Québécois Leader André Boisclair said Tuesday morning.
既然去年哈珀首相倡议并由国会通过决议认定魁省为“NATION”，那么举行（相关独立）“公投”就是顺理成章的事了，魁北克也易被国际社会所承认了。魁党领导人这么周二早晨这么讲道。
Campaigning in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Mr. Boisclair made the remark while answering questions about the parts of his party's electoral platform dealing with the accession to independence.
The platform says that, after winning a referendum, a PQ government would negotiate with Canada over the terms of separation, then declare Quebec a country after a calendar year, regardless of the outcome of the talks.
That assertive approach has made some analysts wonder if the platform acknowledges a form of unilateral declaration of independence.
But Mr. Boisclair said the transition would be orderly and would be helped because of Ottawa's motion of the Québécois nation.
"The federalists, the Canadian Parliament, have adopted a motion recognizing the Québécois nation, which will facilitate greatly the international recognition of a sovereign Quebec," Mr. Boisclair said.
The scope and meaning of the motion remains in dispute, especially since, even in the English version it uses the expression "Québécois."
Liberal leader Jean Charest was forced Tuesday to clarify his definition of the Quebec nation. Mr. Charest and his party had supported the House of Commons motion that recognized "les Québécois" as a nation.
Tuesday, Mr. Charest stopped short of backing Prime Minister Stephen Harper, after the Montreal Gazette pulled out quotes from the time Mr. Harper was a Reform Party leader. Mr. Harper had then suggested that Quebeckers form a nation because of their ethnicity.
"Obviously, given the ethnic and socio-cultural make-up of modern Quebec society, only the 'pure laine' Québécois could arguably be considered a people," Mr. Harper had said in 1995.
"Quebec forms a nation," Mr. Charest said Tuesday. "The nation is all the citizens of Quebec."
Mr. Boisclair said Tuesday there will be no uncertainty or confusion following a Yes referendum outcome.
"We'll do an orderly transition and that's why we've given ourselves a year to do things correctly," he said.
Mr. Boisclair used an old PQ argument that the rest of Canada would have no other choice but to negotiate with an independent Quebec, for the sake of preserving economic stability.
"Let's remember it's also in the interest of Canadians that this transition unfold in an orderly fashion."
He expressed impatience as reporters continued to pepper him with questions about the aftermaths of a future referendum.
"My God, are we in a referendum campaign?" he said, feigning outrage.
Mr. Charest, while trying to ridicule that lack of cohesion inside the team of his rival Mario Dumont, was forced to defend one his candidates who seemed to have contradicted the party's platform on health care.
Charlotte L'Écuyer, running for the Liberal Party in the Western Quebec riding of Pontiac, was quoted in a local newspaper as saying that "not everybody needs a family doctor." Ms. L'Écuyer has already served as the head of the regional health clinic.
The Liberal Party has pledged to provide access to health care for all Quebeckers.
"What she meant to say is that everyone must have access to a family doctor," Mr. Charest told reporters Tuesday in Gatineau.
Mr. Charest has been trying for days to discredit Mario Dumont's Action Démocratique du Quebec, the right-leaning party that has been surging in opinion polls.
The Liberal leader is trying to portray it as a one-man party with inexperienced candidates, in order to convince Quebeckers that the Liberal Party has the best candidates to form a government.
But Tuesday, Mr. Charest was forced on the defensive by the comments of Ms. L'Écuyer.
"We must do everything for them to have access to a doctor. It is what our party proposes," he said.
More than 25,000 people lack a family doctor in the Outaouais region, one of the worse in Quebec for access to care.
Monday night at a rally at Gatineau airport, Mr. Charest lambasted an ADQ Gatineau candidate who could not recognize the region's main industry as forestry. He had heaped scorn on another ADQ candidate who said the Canadian Constitution protects the right to bear arms.
Talking to hundreds of supporters, Mr. Charest had also demanded the resignation of Jean-Francois Plante, running in the Deux-Montagnes riding, west of Montreal who criticized pay equity and events to commemorate the 1989 Polytechnique massacre.
"The evidence show there are problems with the ADQ," Mr. Charest said.
"When we look at what Mr. Dumont has as a team, [we realize] the fact that there are about 10 candidates who make outright bizarre comments."
PQ leader: Independent Quebec will be easy to accept
Transition will be more orderly thanks to federal motion recognizing a Quebecois nation, Boisclair says
TU THANH HA AND ALEX DOBROTA
Globe and Mail Update
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070306.wquebec0306/BNStory/National/home
SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU and GATINEAU, Que. ― Following a referendum it will become easier for Quebec to be accepted by the international community, thanks to the House of Commons motion that recognizes the "Québécois" as a nation, Parti Québécois Leader André Boisclair said Tuesday morning.
既然去年哈珀首相倡议并由国会通过决议认定魁省为“NATION”，那么举行（相关独立）“公投”就是顺理成章的事了，魁北克也易被国际社会所承认了。魁党领导人这么周二早晨这么讲道。
Campaigning in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Mr. Boisclair made the remark while answering questions about the parts of his party's electoral platform dealing with the accession to independence.
The platform says that, after winning a referendum, a PQ government would negotiate with Canada over the terms of separation, then declare Quebec a country after a calendar year, regardless of the outcome of the talks.
That assertive approach has made some analysts wonder if the platform acknowledges a form of unilateral declaration of independence.
But Mr. Boisclair said the transition would be orderly and would be helped because of Ottawa's motion of the Québécois nation.
"The federalists, the Canadian Parliament, have adopted a motion recognizing the Québécois nation, which will facilitate greatly the international recognition of a sovereign Quebec," Mr. Boisclair said.
The scope and meaning of the motion remains in dispute, especially since, even in the English version it uses the expression "Québécois."
Liberal leader Jean Charest was forced Tuesday to clarify his definition of the Quebec nation. Mr. Charest and his party had supported the House of Commons motion that recognized "les Québécois" as a nation.
Tuesday, Mr. Charest stopped short of backing Prime Minister Stephen Harper, after the Montreal Gazette pulled out quotes from the time Mr. Harper was a Reform Party leader. Mr. Harper had then suggested that Quebeckers form a nation because of their ethnicity.
"Obviously, given the ethnic and socio-cultural make-up of modern Quebec society, only the 'pure laine' Québécois could arguably be considered a people," Mr. Harper had said in 1995.
"Quebec forms a nation," Mr. Charest said Tuesday. "The nation is all the citizens of Quebec."
Mr. Boisclair said Tuesday there will be no uncertainty or confusion following a Yes referendum outcome.
"We'll do an orderly transition and that's why we've given ourselves a year to do things correctly," he said.
Mr. Boisclair used an old PQ argument that the rest of Canada would have no other choice but to negotiate with an independent Quebec, for the sake of preserving economic stability.
"Let's remember it's also in the interest of Canadians that this transition unfold in an orderly fashion."
He expressed impatience as reporters continued to pepper him with questions about the aftermaths of a future referendum.
"My God, are we in a referendum campaign?" he said, feigning outrage.
Mr. Charest, while trying to ridicule that lack of cohesion inside the team of his rival Mario Dumont, was forced to defend one his candidates who seemed to have contradicted the party's platform on health care.
Charlotte L'Écuyer, running for the Liberal Party in the Western Quebec riding of Pontiac, was quoted in a local newspaper as saying that "not everybody needs a family doctor." Ms. L'Écuyer has already served as the head of the regional health clinic.
The Liberal Party has pledged to provide access to health care for all Quebeckers.
"What she meant to say is that everyone must have access to a family doctor," Mr. Charest told reporters Tuesday in Gatineau.
Mr. Charest has been trying for days to discredit Mario Dumont's Action Démocratique du Quebec, the right-leaning party that has been surging in opinion polls.
The Liberal leader is trying to portray it as a one-man party with inexperienced candidates, in order to convince Quebeckers that the Liberal Party has the best candidates to form a government.
But Tuesday, Mr. Charest was forced on the defensive by the comments of Ms. L'Écuyer.
"We must do everything for them to have access to a doctor. It is what our party proposes," he said.
More than 25,000 people lack a family doctor in the Outaouais region, one of the worse in Quebec for access to care.
Monday night at a rally at Gatineau airport, Mr. Charest lambasted an ADQ Gatineau candidate who could not recognize the region's main industry as forestry. He had heaped scorn on another ADQ candidate who said the Canadian Constitution protects the right to bear arms.
Talking to hundreds of supporters, Mr. Charest had also demanded the resignation of Jean-Francois Plante, running in the Deux-Montagnes riding, west of Montreal who criticized pay equity and events to commemorate the 1989 Polytechnique massacre.
"The evidence show there are problems with the ADQ," Mr. Charest said.
"When we look at what Mr. Dumont has as a team, [we realize] the fact that there are about 10 candidates who make outright bizarre comments."
