Quebec to be recognized as a "nation"? OTTAWA -- A resolution declaring Quebec as a nation is dividing Liberals who fear the potentially "disastrous" consequences of debating such a sensitive issue in the midst of a leadership campaign.
The resolution must be put to a vote at the party's Nov. 29 leadership convention in Montreal after it was passed this weekend by the party's Quebec wing as a priority.
Former Liberal minister Liza Frulla, a supporter of Michael Ignatieff who has embraced the divisive concept, warned it would be disastrous for Canada and the Liberal Party in Quebec if leadership candidates attack the resolution.
Ms. Frulla, who joined the federal cabinet under former prime minister Paul Martin, had previously been a provincial Liberal cabinet minister in Quebec. She noted that Quebec Liberals unanimously endorsed a motion in Quebec's National Assembly stating that Quebec is a nation.
"In Quebec it's unanimous. It's a given among political leaders," she said.
"It's unthinkable for us to reject that because it's a given politically in Quebec. If other candidates are responsible. . . . I think they will not play this as an advantage for them or whatever because I think that would be disastrous not only for the Liberal Party, that would be disastrous for the whole unity of Canada."
Mr. Ignatieff strongly endorsed the motion this weekend, while challengers such as Bob Rae and Stéphane Dion were opposed, leading many Quebec commentators to conclude that his position on this issue will be enough to garner strong Quebec support heading in to the Montreal convention.
Mr. Ignatieff's platform calls for Quebec to sign Canada's Constitution over the long term, but opposes the notion of extending new powers to the province.
Emerging from a morning caucus meeting, leadership candidates Mr. Dion, Ken Dryden and Gerard Kennedy expressed concern regarding the motion and the impact of such a debate on the Liberal Party.
Coming after a lengthy preamble, the motion calls for the Liberal Party of Canada to recognize "the Quebec nation within Canada" and that the party "create an expert task force with the mandate of reporting to the next Leader of the party on possible ways and the appropriate timing to officialize this historical and social reality."
Mr. Kennedy is undecided on the motion. He said his concern is that it is not clear what "officialize" means and therefore risks creating false hopes.
"We don't want to be, like [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper has recently been, in a position of disappointing Quebec. So what are we promising and what do we mean by that?" he asked. "It could become, and it should not become, a leadership beach ball going back and forth."
The Liberal Party has long been divided between those who want a hard line toward separatists and a strong federal government versus those who seek to win over Quebeckers with offers of new powers and recognition.
Those divisions were clearly on display during the party's 1990 Liberal leadership convention, when supporters of Jean Chrétien who opposed the Meech Lake accord squared off against supporters of Paul Martin who favoured the accord. Some Martin supporters supportive of Meech Lake, which would have brought Quebec into the Constitution by recognizing the province as a distinct society, wore black arm bands to protest against Mr. Chrétien and the accord's demise.
Liberal MP Jean Lapierre quit the party in 1990 over the issue and went on to found the Bloc Québécois later that year. Mr. Martin brought him back as the Liberals' Quebec lieutenant in 2004.
Mr. Kennedy was asked if the Quebec nation debate risks a repeat of that 1990 convention.
"I think the difference between now and 1990 is we're not ascendant in Quebec; we have things to prove to Quebeckers about who the party is and whether we're capable of renewing ourselves," he said. "Quebeckers are going to be watching closely how Liberals conduct this discussion."
Mr. Dion, who agrees that Quebec is a nation but opposes the resolution because its implications and intentions are unclear, said he agrees the debate should remain calm.
"I will do my best to be sure that Quebeckers never will feel rejected by the Liberal Party even though I think the motion should not be supported," he said. "The resolution gives the sense that if we don't have this recognition, we Quebeckers are not respected in Canada. I disagree with that."
Mr. Dryden, who is expected to place fifth on the first ballot, said he does not want to see the candidates taking sides on the issue of whether Quebec is a nation.
"The debate has been hijacked over a definitional question which has no importance as far as the average person of Quebec is concerned," he said. "We head down the wrong path when deciding to play that game." | 
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Get rid of them and make the official language English! 
"(so says ashes, so it should be) 
