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MINISTER DION STATES THAT QUEBECERS WANT TO STAY CANADIAN BECAUSE OF THEIR SINCERE ATTACHMENT TO CANADA

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, May 19, 2000 – Speaking at a symposium organized by the Association for Canadian Studies to mark the 20th anniversary of the Referendum of 1980, the Honourable Stéphane Dion, President of the Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, stated that, in light of the realities of the new economy, the solidarity of all Canadians will be an essential strength.

He pointed out that this solidarity is a cornerstone of the country that Quebecers have built with their fellow Canadians. For this reason, he added, it is difficult for the separatists to convince Quebecers to renounce Canada, this "country celebrated for the generosity of its spirit [...] in which all citizens and all groups can assert and express themselves and realize their aspirations," as Mr. Lucien Bouchard himself said on July 1, 1988.

Mr. Dion asserted that Quebecers want to stay Canadian because of their sincere attachment to Canada. He reproached the secessionist leadership with using ambiguity and tricks in the 1980 and 1995 referenda to get Quebecers to renounce Canada. "Any proper referendum process requires a clear question. That’s true everywhere, in Quebec as elsewhere. [...] The truth must be told: no democratic country in the world would agree to negotiate its own dismemberment on the basis of the unclear questions asked in 1980 and 1995."

A 1995 poll revealed that 53% of voters asked found the referendum question "somewhat" or "very" ambiguous," the Minister noted. He then pointed out that, 15 years earlier, the leader of the No side in the 1980 referendum, Mr. Claude Ryan, had described the referendum question as "a real fraud," "misleading and dishonest,"seeing it as "a camouflage, designed to inflate support for the Yes side."

Mr. Dion noted that the Supreme Court’s opinion of August 20, 1998, and the clarity bill which gives effect to it clarified the fact that only if there were a clear majority in response to a clear question should the difficult task of negotiating secession be undertaken. "The bill merely states the obvious: if you want to effect independence, ask a question on independence. Ask Quebecers if they want to cease to be part of Canada and make Quebec an independent country. And they will give you their answer," he added.

The Minister then noted that the partnership arrangement proposed by the sovereignists is even sketchier than ever. He rejected the too easy comparisons drawn by the secessionist leadership with the European Union. "As if Europe could function with just two partners. As if it could be expected that Canada would agree to have its major policies subject to a veto by an independent Quebec one third its size," Mr. Dion pointed out.

"But just because the separatist leadership finds it difficult to win in clarity, that does not give them the right to try to win in confusion," he stated. "The burden of proof is on them. It is up to them to demonstrate that would be better off if we ceased to be Canadian. That is a tall order, to be sure, but that’s not Canada’s fault."

He then pointed out how costly separation would be, referring to a recent Parti québécois document which predicted a $41 million surplus, when an independent Quebec would in fact have a $3.1 billion deficit. Mr. Dion attributed that discrepancy between the two estimates to the difference between the secessionist leadership’s calculation of Quebec’s share of the federal debt, 17.7%, and the more realistic share of 24.1%, which corresponds to the province’s proportion of Canada’s population. "And that’s assuming a problem-free secession without any economic slowdown, interest rate hikes, capital flight or labour drain," he pointed out.

Canada’s many assets, including its two official languages, its two legal systems, its immense land mass and its multicultural population, make it one of the best positioned to succeed in the face of globalization, he stated.

"It’s not referendum fatigue that is the real explanation for Quebecers’ growing disinterest in the separatist option. It is rather the feeling that, together with our fellow Canadians, we have made our diversity into a strength which we will need more than ever in the future," Minister Dion concluded.

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