Separatists Pay Taxes Too
Stephen Harper did not win a majority in the last federal election and guess who he blames?
Money and ethnic votes.
This is the conclusion we can reach from his decision to abolish the public funding of political parties and the unprecedented constitutional crisis that is resulting from it.
It’s absolutely true, by the way. If it wasn’t for the Québécois, who insist on voting Bloc and Liberal, the Conservative party would have a comfortable majority in the House of Commons right now. It’s also true that if it wasn’t for the taxpayer money these parties receive from the federal government, the Conservatives could have easily outspent both of them in the last election.
Harper is factually right just as Jacques Parizeau’s infamous “money and ethnic votes” comment was factually solid: If it hadn’t been for the Anglo vote and federal money today Québec would be an independent country. If it hadn’t been for the French vote and public funding of political parties, today Canada would be the Conservative beacon of the Western world.
” We, the taxpayers of Canada, are underwriting 86% of the expenses of a party whose sole raison d’etre is the destruction of the country. Let them work their treason on their own dime”, wrote Andrew Coyne on his Maclean’s blog about the Bloc québécois. This is the party line that continues to be diligently copy/pasted by conservative pundits accross the country.
We, the taxpayers are also separatists, by the way. Bloc voters pay taxes to Ottawa just the same as Conservative voters. The Bloc’s 1,95$ per vote is our ‘own dime’, Andy. It doesn’t matter if the Bloc gets 10%, 30%, 60% or 86% of it’s funding from the federal government. They get their twoonie per vote the same as everybody else. That twoonie comes out of it’s supporters pockets through their taxes. Period.
Jacques Parizeau was straight out offensive in the way he blamed the referendum defeat on one segment of Québec’s population. But Jacques Parizeau never called Anglos traitors. He never said they had destroyed the country of Québec, even though a clear majority of Francophones had voted for independence.
He certainly never cut the funding of Anglo organizations and political parties, even after it became widely known they had illegally used millions of federal tax dollars to thwart the democratic expression of the will of the voters.
These are awfully dangerous times for English Canada to return to the Oka Crisis-style politics of ethnicity and Québec-bashing. An economic meltdown. A constitutional crisis. And now a coordinated campaign by the Canadian Right to blame the whole thing on Canada’s historical scapegoat: Québec.
Update: The Tories back down on the public financing of political parties but the Liberals are still talking coalition.
The Montreal Gazette, making itself useful for once, leaks Conservative talking points for talk radio enthusiasts: “Certainly not a single voter voted for the Liberals to form a coalition with the separatists in the Bloc.”
“There is simply no way Michaelle Jean can endorse a separatist-controlled coalition without triggering a crisis on the monarchy, never mind the Constitution.” – Don Martin, The Calgary Herald
“But we’re now faced with the real possibility that the Bloc Quebecois could have a seat around the cabinet table if opposition members topple the Conservative government next week and replace it with a coalition that includes Quebec separatists.” – Tom Brodbeck, Winnipeg Sun
Now the Governor-General cannot be trusted to do her job. Too French. “Ms. Jean was appointed by former Prime Minister Paul Martin. At the time of her appointment, she also held French citizenship, which she wisely renounced in the ensuing controversy. There was also considerable controversy over whether she and her spouse, Jean-Daniel Lafond, harboured separatist sympathies; in his case, few of those who know him believed the denials.” Norman Spector, the Globe and Mail
It has now become an all out separatist conspiracy! Count how many times the Conservatives use the word separatist on their website: “The EFU was merely a trigger to execute a longstanding secret deal between the NDP and Quebec separatists.”
Yeah, I must be paranoid. No one is trying to make this about Québec and the Bloc…
AngryFrenchGuy 
“It will be a new session of quebec bashing..”
Like we’re not used to it :)
Jonathan
December 1, 2008 at 8:02 pm
like you’re not bashing your brothers in portage la prairie or the leduc oil fields?
deal with it – not everybody thinks the same way as you – but it doesn’t make them devils.
what a mess!
and georges – we enjoy a first past the post electoral regime not scrambled eggs proportional voting. i hope you’re right about the christmas break and there will be some sanity in the new year. i’m not holding my breathe.
f**k alinsky and the communists and their self-conferred totalitarian justified actions to help us become better citizens.
johnnyonline
December 1, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Yes, not everybody thinks the same than me, and it does’t make them devils. Same thing for separatists, you may not like them, but it doesn’t make them devils. Also, i was not talking about everybody in the west, but about conservatives..That’s their political agenda, isn’t it?
midnightjack
December 1, 2008 at 9:14 pm
jacqsminuit
if you think that is their agenda – then it is their agenda. is it? only you can answer that question.
i am always surprised by the fact that when eight people look at the same thing – there will be eleven interpretations.
johnnyonline
December 1, 2008 at 9:22 pm
Sure it is my interpretation. I just hope i am wrong..
midnightjack
December 1, 2008 at 9:25 pm
jacqsminuit,
you would be very surprised to know how many separatists live in the west.
these days i find myself disagreeing with separatists on the left and separatists on the right. life is good.
never a dull moment.
johnnyonline
December 1, 2008 at 9:34 pm
Is the west separatist party still alive? I am just curious about the reaction of those who voted conservatives. It will not be easy for them to accept that new coalition and the new prime minister ( it is unbelievable), Stephane Dion. Although i don’t like Dion, it’s a sacrifice to accept if we want to stop Harper and his team…
midnightjack
December 1, 2008 at 9:52 pm
this latest constitutionally legal attempt but blatantly dishonest coup is driving the “forgotten and ignored” western partisans crazy. are you familiar with the expression “let them freeze in the dark?” (won’t happen here – we got hydro!!!)
it became popular when trudeau (much like his modern day counterpart hugo chavez) nationalized the oil industry. good move pierre. i wonder what dad is doing knowing that his son, Justin, is jumping into to bed with the very people he fought so hard against. and the real icing on the cake – is stephane dion, authour of the clarity act, standing on the shoulders of mon oncle gilles. absurd.
johnnyonline
December 1, 2008 at 10:17 pm
I agree with you, this situation is totally unreal. But, it has been provocated by the dishonest behavior of Stephen Harper. Probably this coalition will never govern the country, Harper will shut down the session soon..
midnightjack
December 1, 2008 at 10:37 pm
d’accord. 110%
johnnyonline
December 1, 2008 at 10:50 pm
I have to go, goodnight everybody..
midnightjack
December 1, 2008 at 10:58 pm
For whom it concerns….
http://makeparliamentwork.ca/
kriss
December 1, 2008 at 11:17 pm
AGF wrote:
“See? Nothing will change in Canada after Québec’s independence. You guys are perfectly able to cook up these periodic constitutional crisis all by yourselves… ”
So true! LOL!
Éric
December 2, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I should remember you October 27,1995…
Quebec we love you they said so, after referendum we decided to stay in Canada. Now, they want the Bloc to have nothing to say in our federal governement? For me, one day they love us and the other day no?
Mel
December 3, 2008 at 8:15 am
Thanks for this post! I’ve been wondering how this whole thing must be playing in Quebec, but wasn’t sure how to start finding out. It’s terrible that things have come to this — and that the Cons are trying to demonize people in Quebec in its desperation to keep power.
How is this going to affect the provincial election, do you think? Is Charest toast? Do the voters remember that he is really a Con, himself?
kashicat
December 4, 2008 at 9:54 am
kashicat,
please make a distiction – the conservatives are not demonizing quebec – they are just categorically opposed to the “bloc-we-have-zero-interest-in-what’s-good-for-canada-quebecois” participating with sudden interest in forming the government. and so they should. after all they were elected to form the government.
did you expect the prime minister to say “gee… well… ok – if that’s what you really want?”
johnnyonline
December 5, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Actually, yes. Since he himself was perfectly willing to work with the Bloc when the Libs had a minority and might be defeated — and since his predecessor made the same deal in 2000.
And since the coalition is perfectly constitutional, and it was utterly unheard of for a PM to seek to prorogue parliament a) two weeks after it started; and b) solely for the purpose of avoiding facing a vote of confidence from the House (which confidence is REQUIRED by any government, by our laws).
So…yes. If the man had any honour or belief in the actual rules of parliament and wasn’t in it solely to hang onto power but was in it for the good of the country…yes. I’d expect it.
But since it was Harper, who has none of those things…no, I didn’t expect it.
kashicat
December 6, 2008 at 11:58 am
And by the way…Harper and his minions may SAY they’re “not demonizing Quebec,” but I bet Quebecers don’t see it that way.
kashicat
December 6, 2008 at 11:59 am
at 11:58 if you mean harper was willing to sit in opposition with the bloc and vote against the libs – so?
when did stephen harper form a coalition with the bloc again?
and how much are you willing to bet that the population of quebec can’t tell the diffence between themselves and sovereignists?
minions? is that the polite way of saying the running dogs of capitalism?
johnnyonline
December 6, 2008 at 4:10 pm
kashicat,
so that it will be clear…
why doesn’t anyone approving of the coalition want to hear what the conservative budget is?
i don’t think harper is “hanging on to power” but acting responsibly. he may face a vote of confidence in january anyway. if you would like to complain you can always write to her excellency.
however, from a purely idealogical standpoint, a vote of confidence should have been held on monday. it would have been very interesting to see whether the governor-general would have asked the coalition to form a government or whether she would have decided that an election would have been the best way to go? some time for reflection is not going to hurt anybody.
johnnyonline
December 6, 2008 at 4:32 pm