Quebecers now a ‘nation’

Parliament recognized the people of Quebec as a nation within a united Canada on Monday, a symbolic gesture that has prompted a Cabinet resignation and ignited concerns over a renewed push for the French-speaking province’s independence.

The motion introduced by Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper requires no constitutional amendment or change of law. The opposition Liberals and New Democrats backed it, so it passed easily through the House of Commons.

It was devised to preempt a similar attempt by the Bloc Quebecois, the separatist party in Parliament that represents Quebec. The separatists’ resolution did not include the phrase “within a united Canada,” but its members reluctantly backed Harper’s measure once they realized they had been outflanked.

Some people fear that the recognition will reignite hope among Quebec separatists for an independent nation.

Michael Chong resigned earlier in the day as intergovernmental affairs minister, saying he couldn’t accept the “ethnic nationalism” implicit in the move.

“I believe in this great country of ours and I believe in one nation, undivided, called Canada, based on civic and not ethnic nationalism,” he said.

Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, Harper’s political lieutenant in Quebec, has insisted that the Tory recognition of a Quebecois nation is purely symbolic, with no legal or constitutional consequences.

Quebec has twice voted down referendums seeking independence from Canada; the second was narrowly defeated in 1995.