Effects of the Scottish Referendum on Quebec

As things move into the final week, we are seeing more and more of the effect of the Scottish Referendum here in Quebec. Indeed, as the whole world media has turned it's attention onto the country, this is no surprise at all.

One side of the debate, the UKIP of Quebec politics, Option Nationale, has released this nasty little video:

Excuse me while I go throw up.

What an odious message. As a Scot in Montreal, this is tantamount to telling me to f**k off back to where I came from and leave Quebec to the Quebecois. Like I said, think Nigel Farrage with a more modern suit and you have Sol Zanetti. The fact is that Quebec gains more from the Federation of Canada than it gives. Whether it could go it alone is much more in debate than it is in Scotland where both sides agree that Scotland is not "too wee and too stupid" to go it alone, that myth was dispersed early on in the campaign. As to the education debate in Quebec, language divisions are at the heart of the problems here, and that's not a federal issue, that's a home made problem. Also, the Scots who "conquered Quebec for the English" were also the ones who turned Montreal into an economic powerhouse, unrivaled in wealth and power in North America, which continued to be the case, right up to the 1950s, when they were made to feel unwanted here, and left to make Toronto the economic centre of Canada. Oh, and we gave you McGill University and numerous other internationally renowned institutions that still exist today. But you're right, maybe we should stick to our own battles, and mind our own business. Yeah, we'll just leave you to it. Jerk. /rant.

Funnily enough, the founding member of the the Option Nationale has been paying attention to what is going on in Scotland, at the grass roots level, and has been speaking out about what the PQ need to do to follow Scotlands lead. It may be no surprise, that this ex-PQ member is living in London, and is therefore getting more coverage of what is actually happening. He at least sees that proportional representation and engaging with the people is the real outcome of the IndyRef debate.

Commitment to reform of the voting system to add an element of proportionality. Because the current system does not respect the popular vote in the allocation of seats. One day we must worry about getting a basic democratic principle like representation, before hateful benefit from an alternative that has too stifled imagination, hijacked the pursuit of collective interest and neutralized political renewal. (translated by Google translate and me from the original).

There seems to be a dichotomy in what these two members of the ON are saying, and indeed, before I started this post, I was convinced that they were firmly on the extreme of the cultural nationalist side, and indeed the threats to Scots to mind their own business seems to back this up, however, it seems that Jean-Martin Aussant is on the other side of the scale. Indeed, he turned down membership to another party because:

...he disagreed with the party's position on reducing immigration, as well as the view of the party that the 1995 referendum was lost because of "anglophone and ethnic votes". Source 1 and 2.

That sounds more civic than cultural to me. So Zanetti, what's wrong with you?

Either way, Quebec has to look past the nationalist bullsh*t, and into the heart of why the Yes campaign is gaining ground in the polls. They are the one seeing that this is less about flag waving and more about engaging with the population in a way that Westminster and Ottawa no longer do. Indeed, all the flags are now being hoisted on the Better Together side of the debate, and I am hearing more jingoism on their side as to pride in British achievement and past colonial glories. Nationalism on either side is a failed model of independence. We need to look more at the Occupy movements model of political change, and less at the cultural aspects of the debate. They may stir the heart, but they are also exclusionary, and you want to make your independent state one that people will want to move to because it is a better place to be, rather than one people already living there will leave because they feel uncomfortable and excluded. Don't look to the Politicians in Ottawa and Westminster, and the established media of television and newspaper journalism. Their model is failing too, and is all looking out for the interest of those in power and those who already have. Look at the grassroots movements that are springing up around the IndyRef debate. Look to alternative voting and representation of the people.

You need to have an economic model that works, you need to have the currency of the future sorted out, you need to look to how you want to structure yourself politically, socially and economically, so lets talk about that. Lets not talk about what divides us, and who should stay, and who is Quebecois, and what those who want to come here have to do to fit in to your culture. Lets talk about what it takes to make Quebec a country people would want to live in, would want to move to to improve their lot. Lets talk about the place an independent Quebec would take in the new world order. Do this, and you will engage your people, as this debate and vote has done in Scotland.