Slurs taint Conservative plea to Quebecers to embrace federalism: Editorial
There’s a lot to like about the pro-Canada pitch Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government is making to Quebecers as the Conservatives seek to bolster their profile and lagging fortunes in La belle province before the 2015 federal election, after taking just five of 75 seats there in 2011.
Speaking to a Montreal business audience this week, Conservative minister of state Maxime Bernier nudged the campaign fully into gear by singing the praises of Canada and urging Quebecers to embrace both Conservatism and federalism in the wake of the Parti Québécois’ stunning defeat on April 7.
As the Star’s Allan Woods reports, the popular Bernier urged Quebecers to forge a healthy new partnership with the rest of the country. He argued, rightly, that the go-nowhere sovereignty debate has dragged on for decades, deflecting attention from other pressing issues including Quebec’s high taxes, crumbling infrastructure and indebtedness.
He also invited Quebecers to see the Canadian connection, including more than $9 billion in equalization payments from richer provinces, as an asset, not a drag. To recognize that Quebec is a modern, diverse, pluralistic society that isn’t defined solely by its core francophone identity. And to accept Quebec’s English minority as part of the province’s cultural fabric, rather than seek endlessly to delegitimize it.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2014/05/22/slurs_taint_conservative_plea_to_quebecers_to_embrace_federalism_editorial.html
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