In Which My Disdain For Separatism Shows

From Yet Another "25 Years Post-Levesque" article:

"One of the misconceptions of my Anglo friends is that sovereigntists hate Canada, that they are anti-Canadian," said Santos.

"It's much more nuanced than that. It's not a black-or-white thing."

See, I don't think sovereigntists hate Canada. I think that they think they'd be better off without Canada, or as some kind of half-defined economic association.

The above-mentioned disdain for separatism comes from the fact that this is incredibly stupid. First off, the PQ leadership has on occasion been honest with Quebecers (but usually only when they're out of office), and admitted that vaguely-formed referenda questions are really just covers for unilateral action taken by what is still a party of extremists. For PQers to be lecturing English Canada on "black-or-white" thinking is insulting. A yes vote on separatism is likely to get Quebec out of confederation entirely, one way or another.

This would, needless to say, be bad for Canada - but I think most Quebecers somehow think it would be good for Quebec, and this is ridiculous. First off, unless the split was amicable, there are any number of ways a hostile Canadian government could make life a living hell for a new country of Quebec. The one commercial artery that Quebec might control is the St. Lawrence, and exactly which navy is going to guarantee Quebec's access? (This is not a serious thought - just a theoretical example of the problems facing an independent Quebec.)

Even if the split was amicable, a state of Quebec would be a country of 7.5 million surrounded by two much larger and stronger economies. Quebec would still have to choose between continental integration or protectionism - the same choice it faces as part of Canada. And if the examples of the EU or NAFTA have shown anything, it's that national governments actually lose their sovereignty to international agreements quite easily. Hell, Quebec today has more autonomy than France, in a number of ways.

One theoretical upside to Quebec independence: Quebec would have zero domestic oil or natural gas, but abundant hydroelectricity. In that way, Quebec might be the only North American polity to seriously work towards a post-oil economy.

(An argument for another time - Canada is already one of the most decentralized countries in the world. "Separatism" or "Sovereignty" when a province already has it's own foreign representatives, education, health care, labour, immigration, and environmental policies is an unbelievable form of greed.)

Oh, and full disclosure: I am an Ottawa-born, Toronto-raised Anglo McOntarian. So maybe the disdain for separatism is genetic.