Majeres' Musings

Article snipped below stating how the Liberals are going to go on the offensive in Quebec this Fall.

Here is a novel thought for all Parties.  Why ply Quebec with money to stay in Canada?  Why not make it too expensive for them to leave?  It is not to show how much one cares with equating caring to dollars, or caring to programs, or caring to understanding they are different so they require special care.

Its actually quite easy for someone like me.  Now for someone like Martin where his home is, he would not like the results.

An overview as follows, again its only an overview.  I will not proof-read what I write below.

Quebec is a financial have not province - more money goes into the province than is removed by federal taxes.  Quebec having to make up the difference, as an example the 1200 RCMP officers and staff, minus the infrastructure that remains of course.  Now remove all Federal personel and Programs.

Not to get ahead of myself, the stage and warnings have to be set.  With plenty of advance warning to all citizens of Quebec, straight out no soveriegnty association, complete seperation where you will be your own country, your own border crossings, your own negotiation of trade, your own overseas ambassies, all Canadian personel posted out of Quebec, is the picture so far.

The picture I am painting costs dollars, lots of them where the elimination of duplicating services does not come close to making up the difference.

A financial kicker is required.  The Canadian Bank must re-print all outstanding Bonds (the overseas ones, not the fake Canada Savings Bonds) with an amended dollar amount approxiamately 23 percent less (population of Quebec) with a note to buyer on the bottom stating that to recieve the difference, one must see the Government of the Country of Quebec for payment, then of course re-issue all Bonds.  This must be publicised well in advance to have the dollar drop of course before it finally stabalizes prior to a Referandum.  This of course sets the confidence level and credit level of Quebec where Quebec if deciding not to honour will in effect destroy any chance of borrowing money for funding their new countries requirements.  In effect they become an instant banana republic who cannot borrow money unless the interest is soooo outragous.  All Federal infrastructure remains in Quebec and is not moved, just the people if they chose.

With the kicker above, several aces in my hand would also have to be stated well in advance.  One is that since Quebec exports quite a bit of dairy products to the rest of Canada, an immediate import tax  to double the cost of the products will be applied.  This will destroy their dairy industry as the brokers will not be able to sell the products to distributors outside of Quebec.  In fact a "double the price" import tax will be applied on all imports until trade negotiations are complete.  Of course, this could take years, actually will take years, and will of course only start after the referandum, not prior.

The next ace I would play would be that no resident of Quebec would be able to enter Canada without a valid Quebec passport.  This forces the Quebec government to print all passports after creating the infrastructure and equipment to do so.  No business people moving freely across the new borders until so.  It will not be business as usual the day after seperation.  This coupled with advance warning will force Quebec businesses to stay and challenge seperation or move their business out just in case.  Quebec resident students studying in Canada will be immediately deported.

Another Ace to be played has a two fold purpose.  One, is to not allow any form of Canadian pensions to be paid to the foriegn country.  Two, not to allow any resident of Quebec to work in Canada.  This of course might be negotiated over a number of years.

The last Ace to be played would be the positioning of Police and Military around Quebec roadways leaving Quebec as an instant Border Guard to enforce the above prior to the referandum.

Ok, as an overview only, I think I painted a gruesome picture of only a few of the many ways to make Quebec residents think twice about thinking they can actually become a soveriegn nation without paying one hell of a price.

Would it be called "tough love" or cruelty?  I side with it being just a matter of fact.

cheers :) majere

snipped>
Transport Minister Jean Lapierre shed light on his party's plans to launch a major summer offensive in Quebec.

Lapierre, who's also the Liberal party's Quebec lieutenant, said after a winter of discontent in the province over allegations of Liberal corruption that surfaced almost daily from the Gomery inquiry, it's time to move on.

"My objective would be to win a majority of seats in Quebec for the Liberal party, and I think it's possible," said Lapierre on CTV's Question Period on Sunday.

He said the Liberals have a "plan of action" that they'll kick off on August 10 and let roll until the end of the year.

Though stingy on details, Lapierre said the strategy would involve Prime Minister Paul Martin and a number of cabinet ministers in Quebec, taking their message "directly to Quebecers."

"We're not going to be on the defensive; we're going to be on the offensive, which we couldn't be, frankly, during the Gomery inquiry because everyday we were stunned by the news that we were getting from there. And we had to react to things that we had never imagined."

Whether their plan will be enough to win over Quebec voters remains to be seen, as polls shows the Liberals have been devastated from the sponsorship fallout in the province. A recent poll shows the Liberals have the backing of just 26 per cent of Quebecers -- compared to 51 per cent for the Bloc Quebecois.

Lapierre, however, didn't seem perturbed by the numbers.

"Twenty-six, it's pretty good," he said.

"I'm pretty happy because, for a while, we were under 20. And now, being at 26 -- and last election we got 34 per cent for 21 seats -- we just have to get 10, 15 more points and we'll be in business. And I think we're going to do be able to do that."

Lapierre also took shots at the separatists, as his party drools over the possibility of making gains in Quebec in light of the recent uncertainty clouding the Parti Quebecois.

When Bernard Landry stepped down as PQ leader last weekend, questions over leadership spilled over to the Bloc as well -- whose members are eagerly awaiting Gilles Duceppe's decision on whether he'll leave federal politics to try to lead the PQ in Quebec.

Recent polls suggest Duceppe would be the frontrunner if he decided to run for the PQ, but speculation is that he'll announce Monday that he won't make the jump to Quebec from Ottawa.

"What he's probably realizing is that the PQ is not going to unroll the red carpet for him because there's a lot of traffic there already," said Lapierre.

"So maybe he's decided that he'd rather be comfortable, spend the rest of his life in Ottawa instead of fighting the real war."

Bloc House Leader Richard Marceau, however, said what the separatists do in Ottawa is as important as what they accomplish in Quebec.

"The Bloc has actually been doing such a good job (in Ottawa) that sovereignty is now at 54 per cent in the polls. And a big part of it is because of the work we've been doing here," said Marceau during a panel discussion with other party house leaders on Sunday's Question Period.

Although Marceau would not confirm that Duceppe will announce he's staying in Ottawa, he said "all indications seem to go that way."

The Parti Quebecois will decide this fall on who will lead the separatist party in the next provincial election.

Senior PQ officials announced this weekend that their party will have a new leader by Nov. 15th, but it's unclear exactly how or when a vote will take place.
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