RECOGNIZING PEOPLE ISN'T ALWAYS EASY
by Susan Riley, 09-01-99

No one has ever accused the New Democratic Party of adopting fashionable, but unprincipled, policies just to curry political favour. Well, they have, actually; it happens all the time within party cloisters. But federal New Democrats have never been good at the unapologetic ideological reversals, casual hypocrisies and cynical calculations that have kept the Liberals (for example) in power so long.

That is what makes the party's ill-considered decision to recognize Quebeckers as "a people," overwhelmingly endorsed at last weekend's convention, so puzzling. This is clearly an attempt to make inroads with Quebec nationalists - Preston Manning tried the same thing last spring when he invited sovereigntist Rodrigue Biron to address the United Alternative convention - but it is both dangerously misguided. and politically stupid.

First, who are the Quebec people? The NDP policy paper is silent on this crucial question. In the ordinary sense - as it is understood by regular people and, in unguarded moments, by Quebec Premier Lucien Bouchard the Quebec people are the white, French-speaking descendants of the original settlers of New France.

But what about everyone else who lives there? Is the NDP saying that there are two kinds of citizen in Quebec, with different rights: real Quebecker and the rest? Is an anglophone who has lived in Quebec for 25 years part of the Quebec people? How about first nations, or recent immigrants from Haiti, or Chile, or Africa?

"Sure, anyone who lives there," says Dick Proctor, the Saskatchewan MP who headed the party's constitutional forum. That must mean there is an Ontario people, too, composed of everyone who lives in that province? "Sure, there's an Ontario people " says Proctor, who quickly adds that that is not the point. "We have to reach out, go that extra mile, because Quebec is different." He adds, tellingly: "We needed to have something new to say on the constitutional issues."

But, no, the decision to recognize Quebeckers as a people wasn't a desperate ploy cooked up by an election planning team; it emerged from months of "grass roots" discussions among party faithful, says Proctor.
There are those, including York University Prof Kenneth McRoberts, who argue that recognizing Quebecker as a people does not automatically confer rights, or tacitly endorse a claim to statehood. McRoberts cites the existence of an Acadian people, or various native peoples, as evidence that the term can be simply descriptive, a necessary recognition of historic reality.

But the NDP policy says Quebeckers are to be recognized as a people "in a meaningful way," which implies some legal or constitutional context. Should the "Quebec people" have the right to designate Quebec City as the national capital when advertising abroad, for instance? "We've always said that Quebeckers can decide (those things) for themselves," says Proctor. But what if the Acadian people decide that Moncton is the national capital?

Over the years, the NDP has developed sensible, moderate policies on Quebec, including the asymmetrical federalism promoted by former leader Audrey McLaughlin. This generous notion holds that Quebec is different and needs special liberties not available to other provinces to guard its language and culture. This approach, and the now unfashionable "distinct society," recognize that the French fact must dominate in Quebec, but also support the existence of Quebec's linguistic and other minorities.

There is no such recognition in the new NDP policy, because, says Proctor, the English language and institutions are not threatened in Quebec. Not now, perhaps, but constitutions aren't written for the immediate moment. Or is just that anglo- Quebeckers are a less important constituency than francophone sovereigntists?

What the NDP will soon learn what Brian Mulroney learned - is that sovereigntists are not the most reliable allies. This week, they were welcoming the NDP's "modern" Quebec policy; that does not mean they plan to join, or even vote for, a federalist party (most sovereigntists aren't even social democrats if what has been happening to Quebec's nurses and teachers is any guide).

The NDP's new Quebec policy isn't worthy of a serious party. Among other things, it thoughtlessly endorses a call to ethnic nationalism. You don't have to be a disciple of Pierre Trudeau to realize how divisive, and dangerous, that can be.