I have a good quiz question for you, a question that was inspired by the comments that Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has made in recent days about Canada – comments that have caused a lot of ink to flow among commentators.
And which pose an interesting philosophical question about relations between Canada and Quebec…
Has Justin Trudeau opened the immigration floodgates to the maximum to realize his dream of building the first “post-national” country in the world, a sort of multicultural hotel devoid of its own identity?
Or did he do this to drown Quebec?
- Listen to the Martineau – Dutrizac meeting between Benoît Dutrizac and Richard Martineau via QUB :
A CHANGE OF TONE
The two questions are similar, but they are not the same.
There is a difference between “wanting to build a post-national Canada”, a project which has the CONSEQUENCE of drowning Quebec.
And have the INTENTION to drown Quebec.
It’s subtle, but it’s not the same thing at all.
The effect is the same in both cases (Quebec finds itself dissolved into Canada), but the intention, the aim is different.
There is a difference between saying “The Canada that Trudeau wants to build is incompatible with the aspirations of Quebec” and saying “Trudeau is building this Canada to eradicate Quebec”.
This is why PSPP’s recent comments have caused so much discussion.
Because several people (myself included) saw a change in tone on the part of the PQ.
A change of strategy.
As if we had turned the volume up a notch.
That we had swapped a 12-string acoustic guitar for a Fender Stratocaster with a Fuzz pedal.
Photo QMI Agency, Thierry Laforce
THE MAD Savant
What Quebecers like about PSPP is its sense of restraint.
In an increasingly polarized world, PSPP is seen – with good reason – as “the one who calms things down”.
Which lowers the tension.
And which invites the belligerents to breathe through their noses.
He is a Sovereignist with a capital S, yes, but not a populist.
It addresses our intelligence, not our emotions. It raises the level of discussions.
And that is to his credit.
But with his recent comments, we have the impression (this is perhaps not the goal sought by the leader of the PQ, but it is the impression that his remarks give) that he has decided to change approach and adopt a more emotional, more alarmist tone.
It is not the DNA of Canada that represents a danger for Quebec.
This is no longer its structure.
It’s Justin Trudeau. This man is dangerous. And he has a plan. Machiavellian.
You understand me?
It seems to me that there is a difference between “A dangerous virus came out of a Chinese laboratory, killing 10,000 people” and “China deliberately released a dangerous virus into the population in order to kill 10,000 people.”
You will tell me that PSPP did not lie. Yes, there were deportations. And executions.
But that was 269 and 185 years ago.
I am a sovereignist. I believe that Trudeau’s Canada represents a danger for Quebec.
But to say that Justin Trudeau is building this new Canada to finish Lord Durham’s project seems like a lot of nonsense to me.