The Canadian government is finally taking an official stand supporting the partition of Quebec should it go independent.
Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and a top federal minister announced in late January that Cree and other territories that strongly want to stay in Canada can do so if Quebec leaves. “The basic rule is if Canada is divisible, Quebec is divisible, too,” said Stéphane Dion, federal Intergovernmental Affairs Minister.
Chrétien and Dion’s statements came days after the Crees released a survey that found a majority of both anglophone and francophone Quebecers agree that Crees can stay in Canada in the event of independence. Previously, Ottawa stayed silent on the issue, even though First Nations maintained that the feds have an obligation to protect their rights.
Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard angrily denounced Ottawa’s position as “the worst threat we ever received.”
For the first time, PQ and federal politicians both openly discussed the possibility of civil war if separation should transpire.
“If you take a decision that goes against the will of the majority of Quebec’s population, it will have to be militarily imposed by force,” said Quebec International Affairs Minister Sylvain Simard.
