The Distinct Society of Quebec - Case Study Example

Is Quebec the only distinct society in Canada at the sub national Level? No there is also Newfoundland and New Brunswick Introduction The idea behind the consideration of Quebec as a distinct state was brought up back in 1995 on the 27th of November when the then Prime Minister Jean Chretien expressed his desire to introduce to the House of Commons a motion which if adopted would mean that Quebec was to stand as a distinct state in Canada. This was something which the Prime Minister wished to do in an effort to accomplish the given expectations he had set as part of the last phase before the referendum campaigns of 1995. There is so much as happened since the time of the division of the province of Quebec which was very much the source of most of the reasons behind the calls for consideration of Quebec province as a distinct society (Dunn, 18). The subject was a fragile amongst the numerous measures that had been proposed and were under consideration because of the numerous controversies it generated. Although this was also part of the agenda and changes that had been proposed in the referendum that had been proposed and defeated back then in the year 1992, the proposal seemed like one that was not about to be dropped. This however was brought up in a completely different way since the Canadians had conceded the fact that the mega-constitutional reforms were something that would not work so a change in tact and approach was inevitably necessary and the way to go. It goes without saying that people were shocked at the fact that this was again to resurface considering that after the 1992 failure most had thought it was a dead and buried issue never to resurface again (Brownsey & Howlet, 37). The main issue of contention was the meaning of the distinct society and what having such a group in the society would mean for the rest of the society and the group in question. As such the paper takes a deep divulgence into the origin and reasons behind why the Quebec society was to be considered a distinct society and if there are other states that merited the same consideration. The argument is that this idea was developed in the pre-dated Confederation something that means this paper can best be developed by looking into the history of the Canada as a nation. This allows us understand the way this concept started and developed over the years and hence the constitutional amendments such as the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord and eventually the proposal that Prime Minster Chretien presented (Ryan, 121). Why Quebec is considered a distinct society? Much to do with the identification and isolation of Quebec as a distinct entity came up back in the 1760 during the British conquest. The thing that happened was that this was a French colony initially and when the British took over they wanted to manage the colony with the minimal possible changes. This saw the introduction of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which was meant to govern the new settlers mostly the English while at the same time there was the retention of the French civil law that was supposed to oversee the governance of the inhabitants who spoke French (Bateman, 28). Since this happened there was the separation and differences in the systems and style of administration which was responsible for the differences in the administration. All this made the Quebec province standout since the other provinces integrated the administrative approaches such that the management was synonymous all through the province despite the differences in the people living in the province. This however did not last for so long as with time there were squabbles mostly fighting that resulted to tensions in the colony between the French and the English. This is something that led to the proposals such as the division of Quebec into the upper and the Lower Canada something that was done through a constitutional act of the year 1791. This is something that saw to it that the upper section of Canada was managed under the freehold land tenure as well as the common law while the Lower Canada was managed under the seigneurial system and civil law of the French while the freedom and independence of the Catholic Church was upheld as well (Majzub, 81). All these developed saw to it that the Quebec had a unique and distinct form of management. This is something that led to a very elaborate and clear distinction such that the management units of Quebec stood out as distinct and unique. Perhaps this is the reason why the advocacy for the recognition of Quebec as a distinct nation a may not be something that was farfetched (Mason, 44). This uniqueness in terms of administration and systems put in place to oversee this present a rather unique and admirable picture. However there are also the reservists who feel that this idea to recognize this distinctiveness may be something that is farfetched since it is something that has been there for the longest time. Proponents of this argument justify their line of thinking by saying that the Quebec constitution has already recognized that the nation is unique and distinct and therefore this does not warrant any more. What is worthwhile noting is the fact that the Quebec political and administrative orientation is unique thanks to this developments which took place over time. The historical richness of the nation is something that makes it as a nation to stand out. The creation of provinces in 1867 was something that brought out the distinctiveness and uniqueness of the Quebec. This is further cemented by the considerations that were taken into account when coming up with the provinces (Laponze, 69). The divisions along the lines of the French speaking natives and the British speaking natives is something that brought about a unique approach to the management and the distribution of the people of Canada. Consequently this has also over the years had very significant impact on the administrative and political alignment and developments. The section 94 of the Quebec law also recognized Quebec as a distinct entity and this is highlighted by some clauses such as the one that recognizes the uniformity in terms of civil and property rights of all the provinces of Canada with an exception of Quebec. This is a clear pointer to the monotony enjoyed by the province of Quebec as special and unique entity. The recognition of Quebec as a unique province of Canada saw French made its official language and also named amongst the provinces considered as original or rather bilingual. The privileges enjoyed by this province as a result were not only numerous but also special something that came with the status they enjoyed. Quebec is not the only distinct society in Canada at the sub national Level? There is also Newfoundland and New Brunswick. 1. Multicultural society It is not only in Quebec where there are multicultural systems of life because the other provinces also do have the same as well. This means that the consideration of Quebec as a unique or rather distinct society based on this may be as some put it farfetched. This however did not last for so long as with time there were squabbles mostly fighting that resulted to tensions in the colony between the French and the English. This is something that led to the proposals such as the division of Quebec into the upper and the Lower Canada something that was done through a constitutional act of the year 1791. This is something that saw to it that the upper section of Canada was managed under the freehold land tenure as well as the common law while the Lower Canada was managed under the seigneurial system and civil law of the French while the freedom and independence of the Catholic Church was upheld as well (Trent, 63). The other provinces also share the different races and people from both the French and the British. All these developed saw to it that the Quebec had a unique and distinct form of management. This is something that led to a very elaborate and clear distinction such that the management units of Quebec stood out as distinct and unique. As such definitely the systems of administration in Newfoundland also reflect some of the different systems which are integrated. Therefore rather than separate the different systems as is the case in the Quebec provinces some of the provinces have married the systems so as to create an integrated system which serves the purpose (Webber, 87). 2. System of administration As such definitely the systems of administration in Newfoundland also reflect some of the different systems which are integrated. Therefore rather than separate the different systems as is the case in the Quebec provinces some of the provinces have married the systems so as to create an integrated system which serves the purpose. The other provinces also share the different races and people from both the French and the British. All these developed saw to it that the Quebec had a unique and distinct form of management (Yale & Durand, 242). This is something that led to a very elaborate and clear distinction such that the management units of Quebec stood out as distinct and unique. The other provinces also share an almost similar approach to administration. There is a lot that could be used to qualify the provinces are distinct and those used to qualify Quebec as distinct are pretty much the same through the other provinces of Canada especially the likes of Newfoundland province. Much to do with the identification and isolation of Quebec as a distinct entity came up back in the 1760 during the British conquest. The thing that happened was that this was a French colony initially and when the British took over they wanted to manage the colony with the minimal possible changes. This saw the introduction of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 which was meant to govern the new settlers mostly the English while at the same time there was the retention of the French civil law that was supposed to oversee the governance of the inhabitants who spoke French (Yale & Durand, 243). 3. Unique laws unique to every province. Every province of Canada enjoyed very unique laws due to the nature of the administrative unit although much has been highlighted about Quebec. The section 94 of the Quebec law also recognized Quebec as a distinct entity and this is highlighted by some clauses such as the one that recognizes the uniformity in terms of civil and property rights of all the provinces of Canada with an exception of Quebec (Yale & Durand, 244). This is a clear pointer to the monotony enjoyed by the province of Quebec as special and unique entity. The recognition of Quebec as a unique province of Canada saw French made its official language and also named amongst the provinces considered as original or rather bilingual. The privileges enjoyed by this province as a result were not only numerous but also special something that came with the status they enjoyed. This is also something that other people have reservations about due to the fact that they feel the other provinces are being ignored. There are also the reservists who feel that this idea to recognize this distinctiveness may be something that is farfetched since it is something that has been there for the longest time. Proponents of this argument justify their line of thinking by saying that the Quebec constitution has already recognized that the nation is unique and distinct and therefore this does not warrant any more. What is worthwhile noting is the fact that the Quebec political and administrative orientation is unique thanks to this developments which took place over time. The historical richness of the nation is something that makes it as a nation to stand out (Yale & Durand, 245). 4. The laws that are uniformly implemented all through Canada The subject of distinctness was a fragile amongst the numerous measures that had been proposed and were under consideration because of the numerous controversies it generated. Although this was also part of the agenda and changes that had been proposed in the referendum that had been proposed and defeated back then in the year 1992, the proposal seemed like one that was not about to be dropped (Yale & Durand, 245). This however was brought up in a completely different way since the Canadians had conceded the fact that the mega-constitutional reforms were something that would not work so a change in tact and approach was inevitably necessary and the way to go. It goes without saying that people were shocked at the fact that this was again to resurface considering that after the 1992 failure most had thought it was a dead and buried issue never to resurface again. The idea behind the consideration of Quebec as a distinct state was brought up back in 1995 on the 27th of November when the then Prime Minister Jean Chretien expressed his desire to introduce to the House of Commons a motion which if adopted would mean that Quebec was to stand as a distinct state in Canada. This was something which the Prime Minister wished to do in an effort to accomplish the given expectations he had set as part of the last phase before the referendum campaigns of 1995. The creation of provinces back in1867 was something that brought out the distinctiveness and uniqueness of the Quebec although it may also be that other provinces had other things unique to show that were never highlighted as well. This is further cemented by the considerations that were taken into account when coming up with the provinces were selective and limited to some particular provinces while the others were ignored. The divisions along the lines of the French speaking natives and the British speaking natives is something that brought about a unique approach to the management and the distribution of the people of Canada. Consequently this has also over the years had very significant impact on the administrative and political alignment and developments (Yale & Durand, 246). Conclusion The squabbles mostly fighting that resulted to tensions in the colony between the French and the English something that led to the division of the province of Quebec. This is something that led to the proposals such as the division of Quebec into the upper and the Lower Canada something that was done through a constitutional act of the year 1791. This is something that saw to it that the upper section of Canada was managed under the freehold land tenure as well as the common law while the Lower Canada was managed under the seigneurial system and civil law of the French while the freedom and independence of the Catholic Church was upheld as well. All these developed saw to it that the Quebec had a unique and distinct form of management. This is something that led to a very elaborate and clear distinction such that the management units of Quebec stood out as distinct and unique. Perhaps this is the reason why the advocacy for the recognition of Quebec as a distinct nation a may not be something that was farfetched. However, there is a lot that can be considered before deciding to exclusively declare that Quebec is a distinct society. Much of the reasons for the argument and line of through is synonymous to the other provinces which mean that this argument does not hold any much water. Works Cited Bateman D, Quebec: the Second Referendum, Scottish Affairs, no.14, winter 1996 Brownsey, K. & Howlett M. The Provincial State in Canada: Politics in the Provinces and Territories. Broadview Press, 2002. Dunn C. Provinces: Canadian Provincial Politics 2nd edition. Broadview Press, 2006 Laponce J. A. “Referendums in Scotland and in Quebec in Comparative Perspective”, University of British Columbia, 2009. Majzub D. B. Does Secession Mean Succession - The International Law of Treaty Succession and an Independent Quebec, Queen’s Law Journal, Vol 24 No 2, Spring 1999 Mason D. N. “The Foreign and Defense Policies of an Independent Quebec”, Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, Canada Institute, January 2006. Ryan, C. “Consequences of the Quebec Secession Reference: The Clarity Bill and Beyond.” C. D. Howe Institute Commentary, 139 (April), 2000. Trent J. E. A practical guide to the 1995 Quebec referendum, Dialogue Canada, 1995 Webber G. “On Independence for Scotland: An Overview of Canadian Experience”, UK Constitutional Law Group, 17 February 2012 Yale F. & Durand C. What did Quebeckers Want? Impact of Question Wording, Constitutional Proposal and Context on Support for Sovereignty, 1976––2008, American Review of Canadian Studies, Vol. 41, No. 3, September 2011, 242–258 Read More