The government of Quebec for the respect of the identities within States

File Photo, Simon Clark
The premier of Québec, Philippe Couillard

AFP

Friday, 13 October, 2017 17:41

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Friday, 13 October, 2017 17:41

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The premier of Quebec, Philippe Couillard defended on Friday the quebec identity within a united Canada, and federal, evoking the passage of the nationalistic feelings that stir Catalonia or Scotland.

“In Quebec, Catalonia, Scotland and elsewhere, our people boast a strong expression of their national identities within States or larger organizations: Canada, Spain, the United Kingdom, the european Union,” he said.

“The co-existence of these two feelings is one of the keys leading to a more peaceful world”, he pleaded before the Conseil des relations internationales de Montréal (Corim).

This co-existence is, according to him, preferable to “the divide irremediable of these great sets,” which would lead “to the cascading consequences that the proponents of this solution, prefer not to see”.

“The co-existence of peoples in large sets” must have the corollary “the need for them to be able to express and live their identity”.

He stressed the “strength” of the double attachment that Quebeckers have for the “nation of Quebec” and their “sense of belonging to Canada”.

He said he was “strongly federalist” because it is “the most modern of the co-existence of peoples”.

Mr. Couillard hopes to one day persuade the canadian government and other provinces to resume negotiations in order to amend the canadian Constitution in 1982 to recognize the character “distinct” of quebec society and the status of a government for the indigenous peoples.

“This is not trivial as the second largest province (canada) has not yet acceded to the constitutional text of 1982. It does not prevent people to live, but you need to go back one day this conversation”.

“The collective recognition of Quebec must be embodied in that of our distinct society, an historical evidence, linguistic and sociological,” he said.

Quebecers voted against the independence of their province in two referendums, in 1980 and 1995, the last time not dismissing this option to 50.6% of the vote.