MINISTER DION STATES THAT A UNILATERAL
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE WOULD ENTAIL
INEXTRICABLE PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES

MONTREAL, QUEBEC, March 23, 1998 – Convinced of the need to clarify what would be at stake in the event of a unilateral secession, the President of the Privy Council and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs, the Honourable Stéphane Dion, highlighted the practical difficulties of such a unilateral move in a speech to the Quebec chapter of the Canadian Bar Association.

"Even a mutually agreed-upon secession would pose tremendous practical problems. A unilateral declaration of independence would create insurmountable concrete difficulties," he noted.

The Minister stated that such a unilateral attempt would fail first of all because it would provoke a conflict of legitimacy that would place Quebecers in an untenable situation. "Everyone would be forced to decide for himself or herself which law, which government to obey... Citizens filing their tax returns, public servants getting up for work in the morning, police officers conducting an investigation, lawyers defending their clients, must all know where the authority lies."

Referring to Minister Jacques Brassard's suggestion that it would be enough for a secessionnist government to exercise its authority over all of Quebec's territory to obtain international recognition, Mr. Dion further noted that the PQ government has never explained how it could take over all federal responsibilities within Quebec's territory. "Because that is the most concrete definition one can give of an attempt at unilateral secession: the Government of Quebec would be trying to swallow up Canadian common institutions as they affect Quebec. The federal government, for its part, would believe it had a duty, in light of the above context of "dangerous ambiguity", to continue to exercise its constitutional responsibilities."

Furthermore, according to Mr. Dion, the Government of Quebec would not have the means to back up its claims and could not assume all of the functions currently fulfilled by the federal government. "How, in the absence of intense cooperation by the federal government, could the Government of Quebec collect source deductions, excise tax and customs duties, payment of operating licences, fees of all kinds and various levies? And if the Government of Quebec were unable to count on all of the tax revenues from Quebecers, how could it provide all the services and take over all federal programs in Quebec...?"

Mr. Dion reiterated that Quebecers will never be kept in Canada against their very clearly expressed will. But he added that it is wrong to think that the provincial government could alone assess the will of Quebecers, determine what would and would not be negotiable, and dictate the terms of secession.

"Asserting that a unilateral secession poses inextricable practical problems has nothing to do with a so-called hard line against Quebec," the Minister added. "No one who loves Quebec wants to see it plunged some day into such uncertainty, which is unacceptable in a democracy."

The Minister explained why he wished to add his voice to those, increasingly numerous, that are calling for clarifications on all these issues. "Because frankness dictates that it be said that there is no consensus not only on whether or not secession would be the right choice, but also on how secession could be effected... My own conviction is that, in an atmosphere of clarity, we will never renounce being both Quebecers and Canadians," he concluded.

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