A nation within a "united Canada"

So this morning I wake up to Steve Madeley on CFRA ranting about the fact that major national news reports have virtually all misinterpreted what Prime Minister Stephen Harper said yesterday. Did writers and editors from coast to coast suddenly turn stupid last night?

While I have read the transcript and can understand - to a point - what the Ottawa morning show host was driving at this morning, I am still shocked that Stephen Harper would still feel the need to placate and essentially pat the heads of separatists. The official record now shows that Mr. Harper was quite clear and tried to distinguish the difference between the province of Quebec being a "nation" and the Quebecois being a "nation".

Whatever.

OK, so that was a little juvenile of me, but most of this separatist propaganda that has been hoisted upon us for decades now has never been based on any sound facts. Those in favour of sovereignty for Quebec continually ignore the economic realities that tenth graders are taught in basic economics classes. Anyone who bothers to watch global stock markets for a few days prior to and after major events (catastrophic or otherwise) can clearly see how even faint perceptions of impending disaster or impropriety can impact the wallets of citizens from coast to coast.

Sure, the PMO can point to a carefully crafted speech that Mr. Harper delivered in the House of Commons yesterday. Sure, his PR people can try to spin the story as much as they want.

Whether they are making the distinction that the province should be a country in its own right or that the residents of the province are a "nation" under any definition, the bottom line is that the separatist Quebec governments insisted on referring to Quebec City as the "nation's capital". The gutless and allegedly federalist Liberal governments have done nothing to take those signs down and refer to their capital the same way every other province calls its own capital city.

A rose of any other name is still the same. Why Mr. Harper felt compelled to pat the heads of those who would see our country as we know it today destroyed, I'll never know. Sure, it's most likely a cheap stunt that is meant to head off his potential competition in a soon to be announced federal election at the pass, but I don't think that any responsible leader should start playing with national unity in order to garner a few extra votes at the polls.