English Canada and the Québec Referendum: The Stakes and the Dangers

hold in Quebec? Will French and French-speaking Canadians have a fully fair place in all federal agencies? Can one believe in prospects of productive negotiations about constitutional matters of concern to Quebec? How many individual Quebecois answer such questions for themselves may well decide whether Canada has a future as one country. Mr. Levesque would only chuckle if at this stage Ontario recognized French as an official provincial language. But a number of his co-citizens could well be English Canada and the Quebec Referendum: The Stakes and the Dangers KENNETH McROBERTS Six months after the Quebec election, many English Canadians find themselves still agonizing over the implications of the Parti Quebecois victory. There still appears to be little consensus over how to respond to the "new" Quebec. In part, this confusion and disarray can be traced to the suddenness with which many Canadians were confronted with this new and infinitely more acute national crisis. While the election of the PQ may have come as a surprise (pleasant or otherwise) to many Quebec Francophones, it came as an absolute shock to most English Canadians. Neither political nor intellectual elites had done much to prepare them for the likelihood of an eventual PQ victory. Separatism, after all, had been pronounced "dead". Beyond surprise and shock, the uncertainty of English Canadians over how to respond to Quebec has a much more profound source: Canadians outside Quebec are no longer central actors in the debate over Quebec's place within Canada. Thus, it is difficult to find a strategy that clearly promises to sway the outcome of the debate. With the election of the Parti Quebecois and the 108 swayed in their decisions. The weight of the past, of the old Creightonlike mentality is heavy. But demonstrations of change in English-speaking Canada might still make enough difference to swing the balance in a vote by the people of Quebec. Instead of Canadian unity, it would be well to start talking about Canadian duality - recognized , equitable duality. From that duality could come immense strength and quality. commitment of the PQ to hold a referendum on independence, the debate has become largely centered within Quebec itself. Increasingly, the debate over the future of Canada is a debate within Quebec, among Quebecois. The channels and forums through which, in the past, English Canadian opinion has been expressed and enjoyed influence seem to have little direct impact on this debate. This change stems primarily from the goals and strategies now adopted by the Quebec government . In the past, Quebec governments always pursued their constitutional goals primarily through negotiation with other governments, both federal and provincial. These encounters were often stormy and conflictual. At times they took the appearance of confrontation rather than negotiation . But at least the debate over Quebec's place in Canada took place in a national arena. This ensured that English Canadians had a clear role. English Canadian political elites, as members of provincial and federal governments, dealt directly with Quebecois, discussing their demands and, to varying degrees, working out accommodations . English Canadian opinion leaders were also essential parties in the debate, as they influenced the responses of their respective governments to Quebec's demands. Now, English Canadians , both within government and without, are no longer in the center of the debate. First, the Quebec government is not looking primarily to federal and provincial governments to secure its Revue d'etudes canadiennes goals. With its new goal of independence - not "e~alite ou independance" but simply "independance '' - it correctly perceives that for the time being little can be accomplished in constitutional negotiations with other governments. Thus, intergovernmental relations no longer provide any sure base for an English Canadian dialogue with Quebec. Second, to an unprecedented degree the Quebec government is seeking to mobilize public opinion within Quebec. With a successful referendum in Quebec, it hopes, the rest of Canada will simply be forced to accept its plans for independence . Almost by definition, Canadians outside Quebec are excluded from this new prereferendum debate; In a very real sense, English Canadians have become "outsiders" to a debate over the future of their own country. This is not an easy situation to accept. As the...