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OFKUO... while I can see your issue with regards to multiculturalism I have I still say that Quebec culture *is* distinct but not separate from the larger aegis of Canada.
Fishermen in Newfoundland have a lot more in common culturally with the fishing communities of BC than they do with the French communities much closer on say, the Island of St. Pierre or in New Brunswick.
A person living in rural Ontario, again culturally speaking has a hell of a lot more in common with a rural denizen of Alberta or Saskatchewan than any of them do with rural Quebec.
The Quebecquios/Acadie culture *is* more deeply distinct than any of the other regional differences you could care to point out. The television, the literature, the radio, the personalities, the folk tales, the customs, the laws, the way of life, the list goes on…
Now, the question this begs to me is should this difference be represented politically as well? I tend to be a Federalist so I suppose my answer would be no. I do not follow the thinking that says, “more power to the provinces.”
This is a long winded way, to say that after some thought, I will agree with you completely. It should always be Canada and Canadians first.
On another side of this, if we are to recognize the multicultural makeup of Canada, and not just be another melting pot, where do we draw the line and how? Do we look at hard numbers of say, Somalis vs. Italians vs. French vs. ? That seems rather silly.
The fact of the matter is that each of these multi ethnic groups represents a significant number of voters. Do you really think we would have seen Harper, Martin and Layton in turbans speaking to Sheikhs this spring if they weren’t trying for votes? Martin stopped for Dim Sum in downtown Toronto during the last election for a reason. The attention paid to Quebec really isn’t that much different, except that Quebec represents a heck of a lot more votes.
Again, this sort of politicking should have no place in the mouth of the GG.
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"My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars."
- Old Man Luedecke
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