Seems the Feds will pass this motion. All parties say OK, even the Bloq after an about face. Some say it is meaningless, only symbolic.

If the UK declared the Welsh and Scots a nation but strictly within the UK would that also make sense?

How about the Chinese on the West coast. There are tons of them. When do they reach the exalted nationhood status. What of the many many Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and Sri Lankans in the Toronto area? Do they qualify? If so once or four times?

Am I, a Brit, part East European, and my kin Quebecois? I sure have lived here long enough. Do I qualify even though, alas, my last name is not Tremblay or Patenaude.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6182588.stm

Angels fear to tread.

I'm happy to be corrected but when the Welsh and Scots voted for devolution, that's exactly what happened.

Certainly, living in Scotland is very different to living in England and a lot of powers are completely devolved with only certain matters reserved to the UK parliament. The legal system has always been completely different.

Since that's the actual state of affairs, then yes, it does make sense.

What's the problem with Quebec being a nation within Canada? It's not as if Canada is a tightly-integrated country, is it?

K.

Yeah. They get to vote twice, too: once to control Scottish affairs, and once to control English affairs.

K.

It's worse than that - we have to pay for them all and there is a lot of them, between MSPs, Eurobods, AMs and MPs.....plus all the civil servants.

Ah, therein lies the heart of the matter.

Wales and Scotland are nations, but the Welsh and the Scotch(?) aren't.

Harper always makes sure he refers to the Quebecois (if it even exists, a limited legal entity) when he is talking about the motion(s), Duceppe like to refer to Quebec, which as we all know is very much a constitutional element.

I don't think that Harper would have suggested this if there was the slightest possibility that it actually means anything in law.

Just to be precise: Quebecois are being declared a nation (within presumably the bosom of Canada); not Quebec province as such an action would, de facto, lend legitimacy to succession.

Quebecois, whatever that is supposed to mean (see earlier post) being declared a nation only fragments this country even more. To me it makes no sense whatsoever. I assume this motion to be more symbolic than anything else as it has no legal or constitution ramifications. If my assumption is correct then this begs the question why the motion in the first place?

Can someone here explain that one to me?

we posted at the same time but you express it beautifully.

It's part of Harper's hidden agenda. After Quebec it's Alberta and mission accomplished!

The rest after that lot can go to hell, BC will start the amalgamation of the Cascadian Utopia and paradise will have truly arrived in these distant far western lands, this uniquiely biodiverse home of lounging lotus eaters. Then we will have Marc Emery as agriculture minister, Glen Clark as finance minister and Bill Gates as Premier. Social and economic anarchy, a fine plan indeed. Hel it may just end in complete disaster but boy are we gonna some party for a few years. Might even remember half of it.

http://zapatopi.net/cascadia/

Ah Quebec, so much to answer for.

Rich.

To keep the Bloc quiet for another six months.

It's almost for the same reasons that Scotland and Wales were devolved - no one in England gives a toss about devolution - the goal was to keep the majority of Scots and Welsh happy to stay in the UK.

Here, say Québec or the Quebecois are a nation and they're happy.

According to today's Telegraph the English are now more keen to see the Scots get independence than the Scots are, due to increasing frustration at the West Lothian issue.

What's that, the need to build a new version of Hadrian's Wall...?

It'll be needed to keep the hairy masses out, once their government runs short of cash after England has been subsidising them so long. Scotland is just Newfoundland with kilts, some scenery, sea, a quaint but intelligible accent, oil, and a desperate need to reply on a fading tourism business, propped up by a benevolent but impatient parent figure.

Rich.