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﻿<title﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, Quebec Alone Must Decide - Editorial﻿</title>﻿
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﻿<b﻿>﻿Quebec Alone Must Decide 
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﻿<i﻿>﻿New Socialist Magazine, August - September 1998﻿</i>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
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The decision handed down by the Supreme Court of Canada on August 20 is an attack on the right of the people of Quebec to determine their future. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
The Court's answer to questions posed to it by the federal government is not a surprise. By ruling that if a clear majority were to vote for independence on a clear question in a Quebec referendum then the federal and provincial governments would have to negotiate, all the Court has done is recognize what would then be in the best interests of the class that rules in the Canadian state: a secession worked out behind closed doors on terms that would reflect the greater economic and political power of English Canada. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
The judgment is a carefully-crafted statement designed to strengthen the Canadian state in relation to Quebec. While it may not please the more extreme bigots, by stating that Quebec does not have the right to unilaterally leave the Canadian state the Court has given most who oppose Quebec's national rights what they wanted. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
The Court specifically denied that Quebec has the right to declare independence unilaterally on the grounds that it is not a colony, dominated or unable to exercise its right to self- determination within Canada. Again, this is no surprise, since what court will call into question the basis of the state whose power it enforces? But although Quebec is no longer a colony, it is in reality denied the right to self-determination. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
According to the Court, the Canadian constitution is animated by "the principles of federalism, democracy, constitutionalism and the rule of law, and respect for minorities." Forget for a moment the many features of the constitution that are anti-democratic and do not protect minorities. What is notably missing from these principles is recognition that Canada is made up of more than one nation. Quebec is not a province like those that make up English Canada. So long as Quebec is not able to leave the Canadian state of its own accord, its national right to self-determination is violated. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
Like the aboriginal peoples conquered by French and English settlers, Quebec was brought into the state by force. The use or threat to use force against Quebec is not distant history. From the declaration of martial law in 1970 up to threats to partition Quebec in the event of a vote for independence and the rest of the "get tough" federalist approach known as "Plan B," coercion remains a reality. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
Why then have the leaders of the Quebec nationalist movement not condemned the ruling? Above all because they are right-wing politicians who aspire to create an independent Quebec without doing anything that might disturb the Canadian capitalist class. Lucien Bouchard and co. are satisfied because the Court has removed the possibility that the federal government could refuse to negotiate following a Yes vote. Their voices, and not those of the small pro-independence Quebecois left that rejects the PQ/BQ neo-liberal vision, are the only ones given a hearing in the media.
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
In the wake of the ruling, it is high time that all those people outside Quebec who support the right of Quebec and of aboriginal peoples in and outside Quebec to freely determine their own futures come together to repudiate the Court's judgment, defend democratic rights and extend solidarity across the great silence that still exists between Quebec and the rest of Canada. 
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
We remind our readers of the Open Letter in Support of Self- Determination for Quebec published in our last issue (see details below) and encourage you to support the campaign to which those who have signed the Letter have pledged themselves.
﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

﻿<font﻿ ﻿size="1"﻿>﻿The Open Letter in Support of Self-Determination for Quebec is available on the internet at www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/5202/queletter.html or from Gary Kinsman, Sociology and Anthropology Dept., Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ont. P3E 2C6 / phone (705) 675-1151 ext. 4221.﻿</font>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿
﻿<font﻿ ﻿size="1"﻿>﻿Editorial note: New Socialist omitted to note that the article "Dangerous Shortcuts: Letter to the International Friends of the Zapatistas" by Richard Greeman in our June-July issue was an edited version. The full text is available from NEW SOCIALIST or from the author (16 rue de la Teinturerie, Montpellier 34000, France or ﻿<richard.greeman@hol.fr﻿>﻿)﻿</font>﻿</font>﻿<br﻿>﻿<br﻿>﻿

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