In an exchange in the National Assembly between Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and the Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, the latter suggested that sovereignty was good for Quebec identity, but bad for Quebec’s finances. Does this imply that the Prime Minister is willing to accept serious attacks on our national identity for financial reasons? To what extent is he inclined to favor maintaining the federal link? Is its federalism unconditional?
Mr. Legault has made full immigration powers nothing less than a condition for the survival of the Quebec nation. We all know that Quebec will never obtain these full powers under the federal system. Furthermore, faced with the fiscal imbalance between the federal government and the provinces and the exercise of federal spending power in areas of provincial jurisdiction, Quebec continues to deplore attacks on its autonomy. Let’s not talk about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which denies Quebec’s right to be different and which introduces a dynamic of standardization in a Canada that is increasingly foreign to us.
The autonomy of a nation depends on its economy. The recovery of Quebec’s economy and the increase in its level of collective wealth would improve its autonomy and its balance of power vis-à-vis Canada. This does not imply, however, that federal equalization justifies the perpetual maintenance of Quebec in the Canadian federation. No one today questions the economic viability of a sovereign Quebec. Quebec remains free to make its choices.
Would Canadian federalism be bad for our collective identity, but good for Quebec’s finances, hence the positioning of the CAQ? Such a vision cannot in any way arouse the pride of the Quebec people and constitute a worthy path forward for the nation.
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