‘Nation’al disgrace

So Ottawa says Quebec is a nation. You, your neighbour, the strange guy with all the cats that never comes of his house except to yell at the kids to get off his lawn and everybody down in Rimouski. We’re a nation.

We know we are, because Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper said so. In a surprise announcement last week Harper tabled the motion recognizing Quebecois as a nation because of a language and culture that we hold our own.

It was a half-baked effort to appease soft nationalists who consider themselves different from the rest of Canada and keep the national question off the Canadian agenda as Harper and his Conservatives try to move toward that oh-so-elusive majority government Harper apparently craves so badly.

Frankly, it was just window dressing and a decent way to appease some sovereignists who are never really sure how they feel about an independent Quebec.

That is until Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong stepped down from his post in cabinet in order to abstain on Monday’s vote because voting for Quebecois to be recognized as a nation in a united Canada “requires the recognition (of ethnic nationalism) and I cannot support that,� he said.

The notion that Canada recognizes Quebec as a nation can also be construed as ammunition for hardline separatists, whose new rhetoric will come with the added approval of Canada to give it credibility.

“See! We’re already a nation! Canada said so! It’s not that big a jump to our own country, is it?

It’s a huge can of worms, but that can pales in comparison to the bucket of worms Harper opened when he recognized Quebecois as a nation inside a united Canada because of the common language and culture. That’s a pretty broad definition.

What about Newfoundland? They have their own language — sort of — and culture. What about teenagers. Can we consider them a nation? Goodness knows they have their own language. What about the West Island? No matter who you are or what language you speak at home, French or English, you know the West Island marches to the beat of its own drummer. We have a culture all our own, yet . . . we get no love from the federal government regarding our nation status. First-nation peoples (they’re not a nation? How can they not be?), hockey fans, engineers, parents, and others could all be considered nations under the broad generalizations the Harper government has laid out.

How about the West Island nation, in partnership with a merged Montreal, in a strong Quebec in a united Canada? Has a nice ring to it.