Stress and Coping with Quebec's Impending

CANADA’S PROSPECTS STRESS AND COPING WITH QUEBEC’S IMPENDING REFERENDUM: A REPATRIATION ACT Lawrence McDonough and Timothy Thomas Canada as a nation is evolving socially, of northern Quebec’s C ree and Inuit to remain in Canada economically and politically. The Charter of Rights and under the same circumstances.1 Freedoms, globalization, and the redistribution of federal and provincial responsibilities contribute to the ongoing In the event of Quebec secession, Quebec’s changes in Canadian life. These changes have produced Aboriginal concerns will differ considerably from those a palpable level of anxiety and stress. Canadian political of the former province’s anglophone and allophone institutions also are evolving as a response to new communities. The bulk of Quebec’s Aboriginal conflicts among different and overlapping groups. One communities are contained within unique, specified of the most trying of these evolutions implicates the very geographical spaces that do not consist of many residents unity of the nation. In this paper we examine the stresses whose citizenship claims would differ from the local being placed on Canadians, and particularly the anxiety majority in the event of Quebec secession. The same being felt by Canadians in Quebec. We consider first cannot be said of Quebec’s anglophone and allophone some of the prognostications that have been made in the communities which are much more inter-connected with event of a referendum favouring the separation of Quebec’s francophone majority. Indeed, Montreal’s Quebec from Canada. We also consider suggested west-island — long considered a bastion of anglo- institutional changes which have been offered as Quebecers — is now over fifty per cent francophone. solutions to the unity issue. The paper discusses various Other international examples of the partitioning of strategic options such as “Plan A” (constitutional communities reveal that those of the culturally and renewal) — tentatively initiated by the Calgary geographically inter-connected variety often have declaration of the provincial premiers — and the more resulted in unintended consequences such as violence, “hardline” approach of “Plan B ,” which entails despite generous sen timents such as those made evident discussion of the serious consequences for all Canadians by the Southam-COMPAS poll. It is the consequences of (especially Quebecers) in the event of Quebec secession. such “inter-connectedness” that this paper intends to Such consequences include the potential revocation of resolve and it is for this reason that the proposal Canadian citizenship of anyone electing to become a contained within this paper — which involves the Quebec citizen, discussions about borders, the geographical relocation of citizens — is more relevant to submission of debt questions to international arbitration, Quebec’s anglophone and allophone communities rather and the potential partitioning of the newly created than its Aboriginal ones. nation-state to accommodate the citizenship desires of alienated groups contained within it who do not choose A defining characteristic of the literature concerning to alter their citizenship. Quebec’s potential secession is a multidimensional and possibly protracted period of uncertainty co upled with It is with the latter that this paper concerns itself. considerable institutional change. These uncertainties Ironically, a Southam-COMPAS poll conducted in May and institutional change can be expected to increase 1997 indicated that half of Quebecers — including 45 anxiety and stress felt by all Canadians but particularly per cent of the province’s francophones — agreed with by Quebecers. We argue, therefore, that some action can the principle that if Canada is divisible, so too is Quebec. be taken at the political level which would serve to Strong majorities agreed that specific regions of Quebec, reduce the anxiety of Canadians in Quebec as well as the such as Montreal’s West Island, the Eastern Townships rest of Canada independently of political strategies of the and the Outaouais, have the right to remain part of Canada if other parts of Quebec decide to secede. Seventy-five per cent of Quebecers — including 72 per 1 P. Wells, “Quebecers divided on partition” Montreal cent of francophone respondents — supported the right Gazette (15 May 1997) A1. FORUM CONSTITUTIONNEL (1998) 9:3 83 federal or provincial governments in the unity debate. To Following the 1995 referendum many academic this effect, we propose a repatriation act (our “Plan C”) assessments ensued but the one overriding theme that designed to provide a strategy-neutral response to the permeated and continues to permeate all of the literature build-up of anxiety and stress which surrounds any is that of uncertainty — both socially and institutionally. referendum debate and the aftermath of the referendum. Robert Young concludes that “... in the end, there are In the event of a secessionist referendum result and a many alternative futures open to Canadians and to failed “Plan A” — be it incremental or negotiated — we Quebecers ... The political future and change in our believe that our “Plan C” would minimize societal institutional structures remain open.”3 The relationship disruption and upheaval during the period dominated by between institutional structures and the path ahead is the conflicts forecast under “Plan B.” crucial. These structures include virtually every facet of contemporary Canadian existence be it legal, social, economic or political. Charles Taylor has challenged the PROGNOSTICATIONS “rest-of-Canada” to come up with a formulation Prior to the Referendum of 1995 recognizing Quebec’s distinctiveness, acceptable to both Prior to the Referendum of 1995 there was a Quebec and the W est; Tom Flanagan has suggested that the quid pro quo for the West may be to rework some or discernible split between English-speaking and French- all of the status quo regarding the Senate, bilingualism speaking academic perspectives with respect to the and equalization; Tom Courchene has challenged 2 aftermath of a Yes vote. The English-speaking authors Canadians to develop interprovincial mechanisms that tended to consider the cost of uncertainty sufficiently can achieve positive social and economic integration; great to force rapid negotiations and, hence, inevitable while Francois Rocher has issued a call to get away from secession. On the other hand, the French-speaking what he terms “authoritarian drifting” and to rearrange a authors suggested that negotiations would be necessary, democratic dialogue about economic restructuring. All of but extended, due to the uncertainties that would ensue this has led Robert Young to question whether our regarding economic conditions as well as the leadership institutions are up to the task of defining subsidiarity and of the rest-of-Canada (RO C). managing coordination. Linda Cardinal warns that national unity will not be realized if solutions are The striking theme in all of these perspectives is the imposed on constituent groups, regions or communities role of uncertainty. There would be uncertainty regarding in Canada, while Roger Gibbons suggests that the the legal structures and the rule of law which some federally-legislated veto for Quebec and four other suggest might precipitate sporadic violence. Uncertainty regions has added an unneeded burden to the difficult would surround a number of economic decisions at the task of constitutional change.4 national and provincial level as well as at the firm and individual levels. Uncertainty also would create political Various rationales for institutional change have been instability within Canada and within Quebec. From this expressed eloquently by others, the most prominent of perspective, prognostications about secession are simply which emphasize the role played by our fragmented views about the ways in which individuals within society value system. Taylor highlights our great difficulty in and society as a whole might deal with very stressful sharing “identity space” while Alan Cairns warns of events in which uncertainty plays a key role. Canada’s great divergence of identity. Louis Balthazar argues that the English Canadian tendency to make After the Referendum comparisons of itself relative to the traditions of Great Britain and the United States is alienating for most 2 In S. Dion, “The Dynamic of Secessions: Scenarios after a Pro-Separatist Vote in a Quebec Referendum” (1995) 28 3 R. Young in J. Trent, R. Young, and G. Lach apelle , eds., Canadian Journal of Political Science 533, five books Quebec-Canada, What is the Path Ahead (Ottawa: published in the year preceding the October 1995 University of Ottawa Press, 1996) at 356. referendum are review ed: M . Côté , Le rêve de la terre 4 See C. Taylor, “Sharing Identity Space”; T. Flanagan, promise: les coûts de l’indépendance (Montréal: Stanké, “Shou ld a Supermajority be Required in Referendum on 1995); J.P. De rrienn ic, Nationalisme et démocratie: Separation?”; T.J. Courchene, “Revitalizaing and réflexion sur les illus ions des indépe ndantis tes québ écois Rebalancing Canadian Federalism: In Quest of a New (Mon tréal: Boréal, 1995); A. Freeman and P. Grady, ‘National Policy’”; F. Rocher, “Économie désaxée et Dividing the House: Planning for a Canada Without dérive autoritaire”; R.A. Young, “Political Economy: Quebec (Toron to: Harper Collin s, 199 5); G. G ibson , Pan Interconnectedness and Questions Arising Therefrom”; R. B: The Future of the Rest of Canada (Vancouver: Fraser Gibbins,

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