Harper is supposed to address the concept of Quebec as Nation in Parliament. It will be interesting to see how he will skew his speech so that it reads all things for all people.............considering tht he NEEDS Quebec if he is to form the next government.

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Imagine there's no Heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today

   

Harper says Quebec is a nation! I'm personally happy! Speaking as someone from Saskatchewan;it's about bloody time!!!!!

The English French and Aboriginals formed this country therefore people like Quebecers,Acadians, francophones Canadians are distinct people within Canada.

Since all federal parties are supporting this I hope Quebecers who are nationalists and not necessarily federalists or separatists can want to help us build a better, stronger and INDEPENDENT Canada without feeling they need to vote for the Bloc!!

   

There seems to be considerable confusion in the media over whether that is what the proposal means. To say that "Quebec" is a nation, which is what John McCallum indicated, is far different from saying francophone Canadians are a nation. In fact, Acadians consider themselves as a distinct people from the Quebecois.

If you associated the term "nation" with a specific geographical location than it can be interpreted as meaning a "state" which is what the separatist movement seels. In both French and English the term "nation" can be used as a synomym for "the state." If it crosses geographical boundaries such as the "First Nation" or the "Acadian Nation" it is a cultural unit not a state. When the term "nation" was adopted for the League of Nations and the United Nations it clouded the meaning of the term since only states can become members.

Few have a problem with recognizing the Quebecois as a cultural nation within Canada or a "people" which would include those of Quebecois origin living outside of Quebec. This is what Harper appears to be suggesting and he has certainly provided a life line to the Liberals and especially Michael Ignatieff's leadership bid.

I will have to wait to read the exact wording of the resolution before making a final evaluation but at this point the whole issue seems more related to political gamesmanship, between the Conservatives and the BQ, than anything else.

   

The move from Harper looks indeed quite clever. The problem is that there is so much "anti-Bush" stuf in Quebec and that Harper has aligned himself so closely to Bush that he still stands no chance at the next election unless he makes some bold move to separate (with pun actually intended) the PCC from the US neocon republicans. I think we will start hearing about "neonationalists" in Quebec. I personally find this concept quite scary. I personally remain torn by this. I believe that French Canadians in fact haved formed a nation in the past but they have become so weak outside of Quebec that it no longer makes sense to refer to such a nation -vs- the Quebec one. That is very much the case of the Quebec sovereignists. The franco minorities out of Quebec will have to stomach that and hopefully reenergize themselves.

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"We are all in this together somehow, some more than others somehow"

   

It is quite obvious that Harper's move was to placate Quebec and win votes, and I'm glad to hear that the anti Bush sentiment is alive and well. At least some people have brains.

When it comes to nationhood, we have to ask what it means?

So called nations are beating their chests and buying arms to "defend" their borders and whatever, then go out of their way to invite the worst foreign corporate crooks to take over their economies, strip them bare, and buy politicians so they can order their governments around.

A nation has to be more than just a language, which in most cases is only used for everyday conversation and has nothing to do with culture. Just as 99.9 % of pencils are used for a million different purposes, except making art.

Ed Deak.