Principes said:
Hi, im an australian, and as u can imagine we dont get much news from canada down here, I was just wondering if u could bring me up to speed with the complications arising in canada with quebec? I have a few queries.
1. Is quebec attempting to form an independent state, isolated from canada?
Yes and no. One of the biggest debates during the referendums is whether quebec would still be able to take advantage of many of the benefits that Canada has, such as still using our dollar and passports. Quebec separatists said yes they could, the federal government said no they couldn't. The referendum question was vague in the sense that it stated "do you want to negotiate a new deal for Quebec's position in Canada?"
Many other countries (in particular the USA) said that they would not honour things like NAFTA, etc for quebec if they separated. Many countries also said they would not negotiate with quebec, as they would still see them as Canada. So most countries wouldn't have a quebec embassy, but would not be able to use the Canadian one, either.
Principes said:
2.What will the political and economical ramifications of such a split?
There was a lot of bickering about things such as Canada's debt, which is in the federal government's name, but would make it extremely hard to pay off without quebec there to gather taxes from, anymore. This would have to force the rest of the country to dissolve canada as to not be ruined economically, but it would destroy our reputations as it would be a cop-out. See the problem? This would have reprecussions for the world economy. Canada is a G8 country, remember.
Principes said:
3.Will this increase or hamper growth for the newly formed canada.
Debt asside, it would actually most likely be better for the rest of canada economically. Quebec is a high spending province with a large debt while the rest of canada is more moderate. The rest of the country would have more to spend on themselves (per capita).
Principes said:
4.what are some of the local views on this issue.
My Canada includes Quebec. It's like asking to cut off your baby toe (though they're bigger and more important), it's still something you don't want to lose, as it's part of you.