Dispatches from the separatist witch hunt

Posted by Joanna Smith, Ottawa Bureau

Last week, the Toronto Star (specifically, political editor Colin MacKenzie, Ottawa bureau chief Bruce Campion-Smith and I) decided to solicit the views of the Quebec NDP caucus on the political future of Quebec and whether they had changed over time and, in particular, provide them with the opportunity to put on the record any past memberships in the Bloc Québécois and other federal or provincial parties.

The goal, as we noted in the questionnaire emailed to the 58 MPs (excluding Interim Leader Nycole Turmel, whose history is now well known), was to gain a better understanding of their perspectives in the hope of sparking a greater discussion on the issue. It was also, obviously, to try and avoid any more surprises like this one.

The exercise resulted in this story, which, to be honest and overly idealistic, was disappointing (although understandable given the heated reaction to the Turmel news, as NDP MP Pat Martin rightfully pointed out). Contrary to what Ottawa-based Le Devoir columnist Manon Corneiller wrote about my story two days before I actually wrote it, I was not on a "witch hunt". I wanted to learn directly from the MPs, and not from some future leak from the Bloc Québécois or some other source with an obvious agenda, where they stood in the past, where they stand now, and hear their explanation for any change of mind.

This is partly because my main issue with Turmel is not that she was a member of a sovereigntist party, or that she was a sovereigntist in the past (especially since, as I discovered while reporting on her role shaping NDP policy on Quebec in the late 1990s, it seems she was not). It is that she did not find that information relevant, even when asked during the election campaign about her 2006 endorsement of Bloc candidates as president of the Public Service Alliance of Canada and appears not to understand just how big a deal that is outside Quebec.

But in a broader way, it was because I believe it is time for an adult conversation about this issue. As a native Quebecer (and a proud one, at that), I do have a grasp of how things are different in Quebec. I am also keenly aware of how many people in the rest of Canada know or understand very little about it. I remember meeting a new co-worker on the first day of my new job in Toronto, who a scant three minutes after we exchanged names asked me if I was a "separatist". I also remember hiking in British Columbia when a man who had just moved there from China told me, in a thick, halting accent, that I spoke "English very good for a lady from Quebec". Don't even get me started on how many times I have had to explain what a CEGEP is.

I have had many, many heated debates with friends who see things I would call grey as either black or white. Through talking about it, we have gained a greater understanding of where the other person is coming from. I do believe there are more people like me out there, and more people like my friends.

As the NDP has been quick to point out, the only way to grow a party in Quebec is to attract voters who have supported sovereignty and may continue to support it now. I agree and I wouldn't even call that an opinion. It's called arithmetic. I think part of that conversation should involve the people at the very centre of this shift in the federal political landscape of Quebec (the MP themselves, who are elected officials, after all) taking the time -- and maybe also a leap of faith -- to talk about their own shifts in thought.

As Robert Asselin, assistant director of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Ottawa, said when I interviewed him for Saturday's story, if the NDP believes it is the new bridge between Quebec and the rest of Canada, then "prove it". Or, at the very least, talk about it.

Even though you passed my deadline and I wrote a story about how you didn't want to talk to me, all is forgiven. Feel free talk about it at any time.

THE QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear New Democrat MP from Quebec:

The Toronto Star is canvassing the Quebec caucus of the Official Opposition on the issue of national unity and the unique political landscape in the province.

We would like learn about and understand more about your views in the hope of sparking a greater discussion on this topic, so please take some time to answer the following questions:

1.       Have you ever been a member of another federal or provincial party? If so, which one?

2.       Are you still a member? If so, when did you join? If not, when did you quit?

3.       Have you ever voted for the Bloc Québécois? If so, why? If not, why not?

4.       Has the Bloc Québécois been good for Quebec?

5.       Would you describe yourself as a sovereigntist, a federalist or something else? Please explain your choice. If you have not always described yourself this way, why not?

6.       Did you vote in the 1980 and/or 1995 referendums on Quebec sovereignty? How did you vote and why?

7.       The Sherbrooke Declaration says the NDP would recognize a majority decision (of 50 per cent plus one) of the Quebec people in the event of a referendum on the political status of Quebec. What do you think this means? Do you agree with it?

Please email your responses to Ottawa Bureau Chief Bruce Campion-Smith and/or reporter Joanna Smith, who covers the NDP in Ottawa.

We would appreciate a response by Wednesday, August 10 at 12 p.m. Eastern Time.

Please feel free to respond in French if you would prefer.

Please do not hesitate to contact either of us with any questions or comments.

AN ASIDE

I want to give credit to those NDP MPs from Quebec who, in less controversial times, have been candid on this issue when I asked them about it.

One of them is Alexandre Boulerice (Rosemont--La Petite-Patrie), who voted 'yes' in the 1995 referendum but now considers himself an "autonomiste" who is unconcerned with the national question as he focuses on practical issues like Employment Insurance and pensions. He is also a member of Quebec Solidaire, which champions sovereignty, but explained it is because he is a left-wing union guy and he agrees with their other policies.

Then there is Laurin Liu (Rivière-des-Mille-Îles), who I followed around for a while, who I thought showed some moxy when she explained why she is a federalist:

“I’m a federalist mostly because of my age,” says Liu when asked about how she personally viewed the future of Quebec. “I was born in 1990. I didn’t live through those crises, really, and I’ve always seen Canada as a unified country.”

 

Day 21: NDP Leader Jack Layton in Montreal and Prince Edward Island

Posted by Joanna Smith, Ottawa Bureau

After having spent his first day of post-debates campaigning with a visit to Scwartz's delicatessen and watching the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins 2-0 in the first round of the NHL play-offs, New Democrat Leader Jack Layton begins Friday with another quintessential Montreal past-time: stopping by the Jean-Talon Market. Layton will then ride the underground Metro for a few stops.

This is in the riding of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, which the Bloc Quebecois has held since 1990. Bloc incumbent Bernard Bigras won by a landslide in the 2008 election, receiving 52 per cent of the votes, but Layton has been campaigning hard against the Bloc, trying to build on the breakthrough 2007 by-election that sent NDP deputy leader Thomas Mulcair to the House of Commons to represent the former Liberal fortress of Outremont.

Expect Layton to continue trying to convince anti-Harper Quebec voters who have previously cast their ballots for the Bloc to come over to his side, with the argument that while the Bloc can keep the Conservatives from getting a majority government, the NDP could (in theory) replace it. Buoyed by recent Quebec-only polls that put the NDP in second place in the province, well ahead of the Liberals, the NDP is selling itself as the main federalist player in Quebec.

The second half of the day will be in Prince Edward Island, where Layton will be the first party leader to  visit in this campaign. He will stop by the East Coast Music Awards in Charlottetown and then go to Seven Miles Bay to make an unspecified announcement.

Who won the French debate?

Posted by Andrew Chung, Quebec Bureau

Two insta-polls were out this morning showing how Quebecers felt about the French-language debate Wednesday night.

The winner, as expected, was Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe. The NDP's Jack Layton was the runner up in both polls, adding to his well-received performance in the English debate the night before. Liberal Michael Ignatieff and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Conservatives fought for last in both surveys.

The Leger Marketing poll had Duceppe at 42 per cent saying he won the debate, Layton at 20 per cent, Ignatieff at 14 and Harper at 11. The poll of 879 Quebecers, invited randomly to a web panel, had a margin of error of 3.1 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

The CROP poll asked about best performance among the leaders. Duceppe came in at 45 per cent, Layton at 28 per cent, Harper at 16 and Ignatieff at 12. The Internet panel did not have a random character, and so there was no margin of error.

The Leger poll also gave Layton a lift in another area. Asked whether they were more apt to vote for each party, far more respondents said they were for the NDP than for the other federalist parties.

Things that make you go, 'Quoi?'

By Allan Woods, Ottawa Bureau

VAUGHAN – Former police chief Julian Fantino, the Conservative incumbent in Vaughan, offered the latest offering to the department of things that make you go, ‘Duh!’

Introducing Tory leader Stephen Harper at an event in his riding Thursday, Fantino shared one of his many irritations with life in the House of Commons. In addition to Liberals and those opposing tougher laws to crack down on crime (also Liberals), one of the things that really gets under Fantion’s skin is the refusal by Bloc Quebecois MPs to gather each Wednesday to sing the national anthem.

“The Bloc are absent consistently, and if the odd one’s in there when the national anthem is struck then they seem to leave,” he told reporters later. “I find that very strange. I don’t know why. Obviously they have their own reasons.”

The Bloc Quebecois was formed in 1991 to advance the cause at the federal level of sovereignist lawmakers in the province. Namely, they want to separate from Canada and form an independent nation.

That would seem a pretty good reason not to sing O’ Canada, non?.

 

 

Day 6: NDP in Quebec

Posted by Joanna Smith, Ottawa Bureau 

New Democrat Leader Jack Layton heads to Montreal today, where the party holds just one seat but hopes to capitalize on recent poll numbers to expand in the province.

Layton will make an announcement at Insertech Angus at 11 a.m. The institution provides personalized training programs to young unemployed adults so they can enter the job market with the skills they need, so expect the policy announcement to cover that topic. He will spend much of the afternoon taping an episode of Tout le monde en parle, an irreverent and highly popular current affairs talk show on Radio-Canada, and taking part in an editorial board meeting at a Montreal newspaper.

Everyone had been expecting Layton to stop in Outremont – the former Liberal fortress where Thomas Mulcair won his seat in a 2007 by-election – but the riding the NDP bus stops in today is Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie, which the Bloc Quebecois has held since its formation in 1990. Bernard Bigras won by a landslide in the 2008 election, receiving 52 per cent of the votes. The Liberal candidate placed a distant second with 18.7 per cent of the vote share, but the NDP came in third with only 1,263 fewer votes. Capturing the seat from the Bloc remains highly unlikely, but it looks like there is at least a battle for second place.

The unique political landscape of Quebec, where the Bloc takes much of the progressive vote, has made it difficult for the NDP to be a player in the province, but party officials have been quick to point to recent Quebec-only polls that put them in second place, about 10 points ahead of the Liberals.

Bloc slogan: Let's talk about ... sex?

Posted By Andrew Chung, Quebec Bureau

It’s probably safe to say that Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe doesn’t have the American female rap trio Salt-n-Pepa on “repeat.”

But their 1991 hit song, “Let’s Talk About Sex,” is inadvertently finding an echo in his campaign.

On Monday Duceppe unveiled his campaign slogan, “Parlons Qc.” It’s supposed to be a clever way of saying, “Let’s talk about Quebec.”

And he revealed his campaign themes. Let’s talk about “solidarity,” “fair share,” “truth,” and the like.

But shortly after the “Parlons Qc” was revealed, including on the Bloc’s now ubiquitous placards and in huge letters on Duceppe’s campaign bus, radio personalities and others were dropping the “c” in “Qc.”

“Parlons Q” in French sounds like "Parlons cul," or, “Let’s talk about sex.”

"Cul” is a slang term meaning “a--.” But it can also mean sex.

“I don’t know who the members of the test group are who liked it, but they need to be erased from the list of future call backs,” wrote Jean-François Lisée on his blog for the news magazine L'actualité.

“It was perfectly predictable.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper had his own critique of the slogan, reportedly saying in Regina, “With the Bloc it’s talk and talk.”

“The Conservative Party is looking to include Quebecers of all regions in power. That’s the difference,” he added.

 

Unlike other Canadians, Quebecers support coalition

Quebec really is a distinct society when it comes to support for the infamous coalition that has dominated the first days of the federal election campaign.

A new released Monday by Léger Marketing shows that the idea of a coalition between opposition parties – the Liberals, the NDP and the Bloc – is supported only in Quebec.

Fifty-two per cent of Quebecers said they are favourable toward such a coalition, while 27 per cent said they were against, with 20 per cent undecided.

That contrasts with every other region of Canada. In Ontario 37 per cent are for, 43 per cent are against, with 20 per cent undecided. On the prairies and in B.C. the poll found the fiercest opposition to the prospect.

While Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has ruled out a coalition, it appears that most Canadians have bought into Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s claim that Ignatieff has a “hidden agenda.”

The poll found that 53 per cent of respondents didn’t believe Ignatieff.

No to the arena, yes to the airport

Posted by Andrew Chung, Quebec Bureau Chief

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is making a lightning visit to Quebec City today, stopping only at the Jean Lesage International Airport to announce an investment in the airport itself.

The Quebec media is characterizing the visit as a seduction operation in the wake of the Harper government's refusal to put cash into Quebec City's plan to build a new arena in the hopes of luring back an NHL team to the city. Some are questioning the speed with which Ottawa came up with the cash, said to be $50-million, for an expansion to the airport, last graced with a new terminal in 2008.

But if the government is trying to make Quebec City residents forget about the arena snub, it won't be easy. A poll published last Monday by Léger Marketing showed that the issue has cost the Tories support in their Quebec stronghold.

The Bloc québécois is now in front with 36 per cent of voting intentions, versus 25 per cent for the Conservatives, 19 per cent for the NDP and 16 per cent for the Liberals. The Tories dropped nine percentage points in one month.

Not surprising given that 72 per cent of those polled in the Quebec City region disagreed with the government's decision not to fund the coliseum, while 22 per cent agreed. (This opinion is not shared Quebec-wide. Fifty-nine per cent of Montrealers agree with the decision.)

The poll of 1005 people in Quebec was conducted between March 7-10 and has a margin of error of 3.1 per cent.