The Flag and Canadian pride

May 31, 2002

An open letter is attached which Minister Stéphane Dion has sent tonewspapers regarding the presence of Canadian symbols in Quebec.

On May 6, I stated that I had never met a single Quebecer who had changed hismind about Canadian unity simply because he had "seen a sponsorship."Since then, that statement has been cited in both the French- andEnglish-language media as an indication that I contradicted Prime Minister JeanChrétien.

But my comments did not contradict the Prime Minister : rather, theycontradicted a simplistic interpretation of his remarks. According to thatinterpretation, the Prime Minister is proud of having "sold" Canada toQuebecers, somewhat like how one might advertise a commercial product. I find ita great pity that one would belittle what Prime Minister Jean Chrétien hasdone for Canadian unity by likening it to advertising hype.

I understand the scepticism behind this interpretation. It is quite right tosay that seeing a flag is not enough to kindle love of country in the hearts ofits citizens. Rather, it is when citizens take their country to heart that theyfly its flag with pride.

But we must consider the context of Quebec. We have a secessionist governmentwhose avowed policy is to do everything in its power to ban Canadian symbolsfrom Quebec soil. That government is determined to take Canada out of Quebec, ifit cannot take Quebec out of Canada.

It is even prepared to squander taxpayers’ money to ban the Canadian flag,as it did at the 1999 Quebec Games (Le Soleil, March 13, 1999, A1), orwith the renovation of the Jardin zoologique and the Aquarium du Québec in2001. At that time, the PQ government preferred to pay out $18 million ratherthan to accept a federal investment and tolerate the presence of the Canadianflag, which Mr. Landry notoriously referred to as "bits of red rag"on January 23, 2001.

I appreciate that people are sick and tired of this flag war. But who startedthat war, if not the PQ government that wants to ban the Canadian flag? TheGovernment of Canada, for its part, is proud of both our flags, the Maple Leafand the Fleur de Lys alike. In February 2001, Bernard Landry went so far as toask Quebec’s then Justice Minister, Ms. Linda Goupil, to remove the Canadianflag from civil wedding ceremonies. "This shows you how deeply this mancares for Quebec," Ms. Goupil fawned to PQ supporters in Lévis onFebruary 25, 2001, apparently seeing this rampant sectarianism as the ultimateexpression of Quebec patriotism.

So do we just lie back and take it? Do we let ourselves be intimidated andreturn to the time not so long ago when some Quebec federalist leaders referredto Canada as little as possible and avoided associating themselves with itssymbols? After the 1995 referendum, the Prime Minister of Canada, in his overallplan for unity, decided to call unabashedly for the presence of the Canadianflag and symbols whenever it would be relevant and legitimate to do so. Ibelieve that this decision has helped many Quebecers to display in turn theirpride in being both Quebecers and Canadians. Canada will not let itself bedriven out of Quebec and Quebecers will resolutely show their will to stay inCanada.

Naturally, none of this can justify turning a blind eye to administrativeerrors or possible misdealings that may have taken place in the administrationof certain federal programs. By turning to the Auditor General as well as theRCMP, and by issuing new directives, the Government of Canada has acted as itshould have done in the circumstances. The Prime Minister is determined to getto the bottom of things, because no value is more dear to him than honesty.

Comparative studies rank Canada among the countries where sound managementand integrity in the use of public funds are most respected. Our Prime Ministeris resolved to further strengthen this reason for being proud of Canada.