[Boy Genius]

So I take it that Quebec will probably never seperate then?
It is still mentioned in my Geography classes (here in the US) that Quebec wants to seperate.

[OneHope]

Originally Posted by Boy Genius

So I take it that Quebec will probably never seperate then?
It is still mentioned in my Geography classes (here in the US) that Quebec wants to seperate.

I think that is because they still won't sign the constitution. A prime minister could make Canadian history if they could get the french to sign the thing.

Originally Posted by Danny

Why does Quebec want to separate, anyway?

Because they were conquered a number of centuries ago and they still resent it.

Originally Posted by Ashkay

This thread should be in the Canada forum so us americans aren't tempted to make fun of Canadians.

I should mention one thing; all the quebecers that I have met have been very nice people and it would be a shame if they seceeded. I mean, Montreal was ten times friendlier than Toronto when I visited it even though I couldn't speak a word of French.

[tropicana]

There are BC seperatists (or Western; sometimes Alberta is included), but they seem to be fairly few in number. There's even a "Western Refederation Party".

Originally Posted by Boy Genius

So I take it that Quebec will probably never seperate then?
It is still mentioned in my Geography classes (here in the US) that Quebec wants to seperate.

I don't forsee Quebec separating in the next ten years, no.

[Boy Genius]

If they won't sign the constitution, then aren't they technically not a part of the country?

[Grasshopper359]

Originally Posted by Boy Genius

If they won't sign the constitution, then aren't they technically not a part of the country?

Well, "Constitution" is a complicated word in Canada. I'll try to condense it here. It's formed by both written and unwritten elements. Canada was formed by the British North America Act, which was an act of British Parliament that outlined, more or less, the executive, legislative and judicial powers for the country. This was the basis of the written part. But in addition to these, there are also unwritten customs, or, "conventions". Unlike the American Constitution, the whole basis of government isn't outlined in one document, it's a collection of the BNA (in its various incarnations), the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and conventions. So there isn't one document to sign to be part of the country.

What Quebec hasn't signed is "The Constitution Act." This where it gets extremely complicated, but ride it out. Just for me.

During the nationalist fever of the 1970s, it was felt that Canada should not be governed by an act of British Parliament, so they decided to "bring the BNA Act home". In essence, it required drafting an Act that outlined the three main powers of state the same way as the BNA Act did, only, that it was done here. For the sake of simplicity, they took the exact words of the BNA Act, and drafted a bill here, then once approved, it was called "The Constitution Act". It's the exact same thing as the BNA Act was, except for minor symmantics and the form of words. A representitive from Quebec (Georges Etienne Cartier) signed the BNA, which made Quebec part of Canada. A representitive of Quebec has not yet signed the Const. Act, so we're still governed by the BNA Act, which makes them part of Canada. What difference does it make? None. The separitists were being as deliberately obtuse towards Ottawa in refusing the Const. Act as the Prime Minister was being towards London by drafting it. In my humble opinion, the whole affair was a colossal waste of time.

Why does Quebec want to separate, anyway?

Most of us don't. A few die-hard separatists are convinced that Canada is evil and bent on assimilating them and their culture into their Anglophone hegemony, but most Quebecers have had a pretty decent reality check and realised that life in Canada isn't so bad. I live in Quebec City, which is considered to be the heart of Quebec nationalism, and it's lost almost all of its wind. Quebec won't separate. Ever. Life is too good as part of Canada.

[Boy Genius]

Okay, now I understand it all...thanks for clearing that up for me.