Pauline Marois would love the rest of Canada to accept her vision of a separate state. She knows that if the rest of Canada (ROC) does not cooperate, Quebec could not survive.
Will Marois have separate banks, a separate postal system, a Quebec army? Will the Montreal airport be controlled by the separatists? Will the St. Lawrence River passing through a separate Quebec be governed by the separatists?
The only way Quebec could become a separate state is if the rest of Canada agrees..
Don't let the separatists kid you. They may play with words, soften their message, promise that they only want the "Sudetenland" - anything to mislead you into voting for the Parti Quebecois.
The truth is simple: The separatists want a Quebec for pure laine French citizens, obedient followers, quiet minorities, cheap labour. They want the benefits of being accepted by Canadians, by the federal government, while creating a ghetto in Quebec. They want their cake and they want to eat it too.
We have to hope that most French speaking Canadians who make their home in Quebec are smart enough to recognize the lies. Those who are old enough to remember 1930's Germany will not be tricked into supporting the separatists.
WHAT IS A DISTINCT SOCIETY ?
By Phyllis Carter
She was asked whether an independent Quebec would be more attractive as a tourism destination during a campaign stop in Notre-Dame-des-Bois near Lac-Mégantic.
Marois: independent QC "won't change our geography. We could still visit the Rockies...they can still come here. There won't be any borders"
Monique Muise (@monique_muise) March 11, 2014
"It won't change our landscapes, that's for sure," she said with a laugh. "We'll still be able to go see the Rockies out West and go to Prince Edward Island and they'll be able to come here. There won't be any borders or tolls."
She said an independent Quebec would have more latitude and freedom but she did not immediately elaborate on the border issue.
"No, no, we're not on independence today, we're discussing Lac-Mégantic," the premier said.
She pledged to help the city attract tourists back to the area, eight months after a devastating derailment killed 47 people when a train carrying crude oil exploded at the centre of the town of 6,000.
"We would turn to Ottawa" for the funds, she said according to the Montreal Gazette. "They are responsible for rail transport."
Asked if the Conservative government had fulfilled its responsibilities to date, Marois replied: "I don't want to reopen that Pandora's box. It's already been complicated enough getting to where we are. We fought the battles we could fight. The important thing is that the people of Lac-Mégantic got help."
Liberal Leader Philippe Couillard said the PQ's constant musings on Quebec's future only serve to hurt the province and that his political foes should tone down the rhetoric.
"Every time they hint at a referendum, Quebec is weakened," he said at a campaign stop in Trois-Rivieres.
Quebec independence would destroy the rest of Canada because the province is an "essential part" of the country and its "distinct character" is part of what makes Canada so interesting.
Every time they hint at a referendum, Quebec is weakened
Later in the day, Marois sought to clarify the border comments when she agreed with a reporter's assertion that an independent Quebec would be like the European Union, where there is free movement of citizens.
"That's what it means, but that's not to say there wouldn't be a [Quebec] citizenship and, as such, a passport," Marois said.
Couillard harked back to the failed 1990 Meech Lake constitutional agreement, which would have recognized Quebec as a distinct society.
"Canada didn't refuse [to sign Meech]," he said. "Some provinces did not endorse Meech Lake but that doesn't mean Canada turned it down."
Couillard said he he believes Canadians in other provinces realize Meech was a "missed opportunity."
"It should have [been approved by everyone]. But you don't reject a country because it wasn't. What's that all about?"
Sovereignty continues to be a prominent issue in the Quebec election campaign, especially since the PQ's new star candidate, Pierre Karl Peladeau, announced his dream to see the province become a country.
"Quebec has all the means to succeed. We have financial resources, we have human resources, we have natural resources," Peladeau said Sunday to cheers from the party faithful in the Saint-Jerome he will run in. "We've got everything [we need] for a country to be alive and kicking."
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