Quebec and Self-Determination essays

Quebec and Self-Determination essays Quebec has a long history of self-determination. It is in fact, a history that has yet to resolve itself. All attempts to bring Quebec under a unified tent with the rest of the providences of Canada have, as of yet, failed. Quebec has been offered compromises and has refused them. Many leaders have made the attempt to separate Quebec from the other provinces so that they can live within their own government system and none of these leaders has succeeded into making Quebec an independent country. The fight continues today and in many ways it is a very noble fight for the people of Quebec have been looked down upon for their language, their origins, and their native peoples. All of this in the face of the fact that they are one the highest, if not the highest, producing provinces of Canada. The believers of separatism and self-determination are bound and determine to win the struggle for their freedom. If won, it could indeed be a costly lesson but it could also be a victorious right to the governmental system of their choosing. It could simply be freedom for the diverse population of Quebec. I. Early Foundations of the Independence Movement The country of Quebec has considered itself a separate entity since the early 1700s when the war between the British and the French became inherently responsible for conflict in the American territories (Canada Business, Current issues, 1997, PG.). After the war the British, in 1867, brought the provinces together in a new federation with the formal right of being self-governed. It was Britains hope that this would stop any annexation by the United States into Canada (Hatch; Kendrick, 1995, PG.). This was also done in the hopes of containing the still rebellious French-speaking population (francophones) and exterminating the Native bands. At the time the Indians, francophones, and Metis (mixed European and native peoples) gathered together and offered challenges to the...