Originally posted by samusaran253
Arguments for Independence
* In Quebec the official language is French, whereas the rest of Canada speaks English
This has actually never been an argument in favour of idependence. It's not about language, it's about culture. Only tired federalists keep coming
up with that one.
* The goals and policies of the rest of Canada do not necessarily always align with those of Quebec
And vice versa. All countries should be made of small groups of people who share the same culture, ideology and goals.
* Quebec's French culture is dying and arguably without independence or autonomy, it will eventually become like the rest of Canada
This is straight out of the 60's...
* Many separatists in Quebec feel as though the Canadian government didn't live up to it's promise for a new constitution in 1970
The federal government did not live up to it's promise as Quebec was excluded from this new constitution. But all Quebecers, seperatists or
federalists, agree on this point.
* Some websites recognize Quebec's distinct cultural differences from Canada, such as how Yahoo! has both Canadian and Quebecker Yahoo!
Answers websites
Yep, let's base our future on whether or not Yahoo believes in us... What's the point of this argument anyway?
Arguments Against Independence
* Quebec already maintains a degree of autonomy as a province of Canada
But very limited. As long as it is agreable to the government of Canada
* The French language is dying out in Quebec and being replaced with English
Hiliarious!!!
* The withdrawal of Quebec from Canada could significantly hinder Canada's political, economic, and military strength
Do you really think anyone in Quebec, seperatist or federalist, actually cares?
* The majority of the population of Quebec don't support independence or autonomy
The 1981 referendum, asking the mandate to negotiate a Sovereignty Association, which would then be passed through another referendum, was turned down
60%-40%. Many observers believe this is because it didn't go far enough. The Meech Lake referendum, asking if Quebecers wanted to stay in Canada, as
is, was turned down 60%-40% (60% refused to stay in Canada). The same referendum in Canada, asking to bring Quebec back into the constitution was
also turned down by the majority of Canadians. The 1996 referendum on independence resulted in 50.1% against, 49.9% for. A difference of 15,000 votes.
Remember that a few weeks before the vote, the Canadian government gave 25,000 immigrants in Quebec, their citizinship at least 6 months ahead of
time, thus giving them the right to vote on the issue. (This is nothing against immigrants; you cannot expect someone to vote on seccession of a
province when they've just obtained citizenship).
* Terrorism committed by pro-independence guerrilla factions drives people away from supporting Quebec sovereignty
This happened in the late 60's, up to 1970. There have been no other terrorist or guerrilla factions since. And they did not drive anybody away from
the movement.
* If Quebec became independent, it would create a barrier in the middle of Canada, separating Eastern Canada and Western Canada
Do you really think anyone in Quebec, seperatist or federalist, actually cares?
* It is questionable whether or not Quebec could be economically self-sufficient without the aid of Canada
All independent studies show that the Quebec economy would be around the 27th largest in the world. Not bad for 8 million people.
* Quebec has no pre-existing constitution or framework for government
Quebecers live in trees and spend their evenings picking lice off of each other. How could anyone believe something so idiotic?
* Quebec is made up of many different ethnic groups, and an independent French-speaking Quebec could easily abuse minorities
85% of the population is of French (as in France) descendence. 5% of English (as in British descendence). 10% are of native or other descendence.
* Historically speaking, the former French government of Quebec often ignored, suppressed, and mistreated the aboriginal population
As all North American governments, but less so than the others.
* Many of the leaders of the separatist movement are discriminatory against the aboriginal population, including the former leader of Quebec,
Robert Bourassa
After the Meech Lake fiasco, Bourassa had the mandate (and the obligation in view of the results of the referendum) to declare unilateral independence
of Quebec. He did not. He was not a seperatist, but a full-fledged fedralist. As for the rest of the quote, it is pure racism and based on no facts
whatsoever.
* Many aboriginal tribes in Canada have expressed concerns regarding Quebec sovereignty, and some have even threatened to leave the
confederacy
They actually want non-natives to leave all of Canada, so this is false and irrelevent anyway.
* The ideas on how an independent Quebec should be governed are very different, with many different parties and organizations, each with
different ideological idea on what the future of Quebec should be. Many of the groups are far-left communist groups, while others are center-right and
far right..
There is only one separitist party and it is left-center. Communists??? Far-right??? They are both practically non-existent in Quebec.
This whole article is based of false federalist claims from the 1960's. These claims were made to scare Quebecers into "taking their place" and
being quiet. The OP is spreading ridiculous fallacies across the web.