Re The UN General Assembly Speaker Schedule is Here! I note that whoever will be speaking for Canada this year…
Reconquering Canada: A New Project for the Quebec Nation
Written by Diana Thebaud Nicholson // November 18, 2007 // Canada, Politics // 1 Comment
QUEBEC — Quebecers should leave the political and constitutional strife behind, shed their victim complex and take a fresh look at Canada, a coalition of 14 staunch Quebec federalists urge in a new book.
Their prescription for Quebecers existential questioning is aimed at shaking things up after four decades of unsuccessful negotiations — from the patriation of the Constitution that Quebec has always refused to sign to the Meech Lake talks and the two referendums on sovereignty.
The contributors — including Quebec Intergovernmental Affairs minister Benoit Pelletier, former federal justice minister Martin Cauchon, and retired astronaut turned Liberal candidate Marc Garneau — are urging Quebec to play a bigger role within the Canadian federation. [… Liberal candidate Marc Garneau asserts that Quebec’s culture, language and way of life will be best promoted within the Canadian federation.]
“It’s time for Quebecers to play on the ice with Canada. We can’t be on the sidelines all the time and look at others play and say once in a while ‘pass me the puck’,” said Pratte, who also contributed to the volume.
He said Quebec has to get rid of its “victim complex” and start building better relations with other provinces.
“Quebecers have to stop thinking that the federal [government], or the ‘Anglais’, are to blame for everything that is not working in Quebec,” said Pratte in an interview.
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A complementary book is Jocelyn Létourneau’s recent: A History for the Future, Rewriting Memory and Identity in Quebec A personal debate on the future of history and memory in Quebec.
In A History for the Future, Jocelyn Létourneau, a leader of the new wave of Quebec intellectuals, examines the hotly debated topics of history and memory in Quebec and Canada. Rather than focus on the past itself, he considers the challenge of turning the past into a narrative that contributes to building a better society, thereby establishing a liberating legacy for that society’s heirs.
His December 6 thoughtful interview on CBC Radio’s Ideas is a ‘must listen’.