Quebec a Nation

Kudos to Steven Harper for doing the right thing in declaring the Quebecois people a nation within Canada. While it is obvious Mr. Harper's motivations in this matter originate not from altruistic intentions but rather an attempt to bribe Quebec voters, this recognition has been a long time coming.

While much of Ontario and western Canada have accepted the Americanization of of their societies, with a social system based on Darwinism and economic winners and losers replacing the old Canadian values of a more egalitarian society, Quebec has maintained a more progressive, caring outlook towards its society. Alberta in particular has decided to trade in the pre-1980's Canadian ideal of socialism lite for the neo-conservative ideal of fascism lite, and to many Quebecois this decision to hand Canadian resources to the corporate masters leaves a bad taste in their mouth.

So this latest development to accept the Quebecois as a distinct society is a step in the right direction. It will allow Quebec to better protect itself from the wave of unsustainable full blown capitalism sweeping the globe, and I for one am glad that such a place of forward thinking might just be preserved in North America.