The Written Word: Rafe Mair March 14th

By Rafe Mair

   The Quebec provincial – oops! National election – is, if nothing else, interesting.

Until a few weeks ago, a victory by the Parti Quebecois was seen, by the media anyway, as a certainty. They are, if not in a free fall, certainly losing ground to the Liberals and the Action Democratique du Quebec, even though they’ve been forced to reject a second candidate in less than a week, still, under the aging boy wonder, Mario Dumont seems to be moving into the vacuum created by the fading Pequists

Those of us in the “Rest of Canada” have trouble walking and chewing gum at the same time and see Jean Charest and his Liberals as being the hope of salvation for this country. Would that it only were so. The optimism comes from the proposition that Mr. Charest is a dedicated Canadian and will not tolerate any separatism nonsense. Andre Boisclair is a separatist, of course, but since the thoughts of Quebeckers are on other matters he has avoided this subject like the plague. While it’s hard to understand Mr. Dumont’s precise position I suspect that he is, at this stage, a “Sovereignty-Association” man"

The Canadian Establishment, which is what Toronto has become, is cheering for Mr. Charest. And I would agree that he’s the best man from our point of view as long as we understand that his path is aimed at separation but is longer and windier. I don’t think for a moment that Mr. Charest is some sort of turncoat awaiting his main chance – it’s more likely that he’s aiming for his old job as leader of the Federal Conservatives if there is an appropriate opening.

The downside to a Charest victory is that in order to keep him in power it will be necessary to bribe him, not with money (although that’s always welcome in Quebec City) but with new designations and enhanced powers. This is the danger the nation faces – no one will ever run for office on the basis that Quebec is, in legal terms, a province “comme les autres”.

That being so, any leader of any stripe in Quebec will continue fighting for new powers. To do otherwise is to consign oneself to the political rubbish bin I have always said that for the country as a whole, it’s better to have a separatist party in power in Quebec than the apparently loyal Liberals and for one very good reason – the federal government can say “no” to the PQ and obtain political credits in the rest of the country.

The alternative is to say “yes” to Jean Charest and in so doing, continue with the constitutional bribes which, as the later Pierre Trudeau said, will have the country go out not with a bang, but a whimper.

Ponder this – no matter who wins this election, after four years Quebec will be closer to sovereignty than she is today

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