Russian President, Vladimir Putin 

                                                       (credit: Wikimedia Commons) 

                    Rene Levesque conceding defeat in the 1980 separation referendum 

                                                           (credit: CBC News)

Canada and Vladimir Putin

I remember very clearly the anguish I felt during the last weeks before the first Quebec referendum on separation from the rest of Canada. They were going to leave the confederation of Canadian provinces. Or so the Parti Quebecois, the one running the province at that time, 1980, wanted. The leader of that party, his cabinet, and thousands of his followers campaigned for separation. They felt very sure that they hadn’t been treated with respect and hadn’t been protected against going the way of the Cajuns in Louisiana – a rural curiosity – in the not-too-distant future. Many in Quebec felt their language, their culture, their way of life were on the verge of becoming cultural casualties. They were six million francophones in the middle of a sea of anglophones. If their culture was not granted safeguards inside of confederation, it would not survive. Or so many of them believed.

And with reason. They were disrespected, even mocked, by too many English-speaking folk in other provinces. Even in sport. Hockey star Maurice Richard was elbowed in the face without any referee calls on the play over and over again. Luckily for him and his many fans, he was really tough. He played a sportsmanlike game for a long time, but eventually, he started flattening every goon the other teams sent after him. Then, they left him alone.

                                          Canadian Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau 

                                                         (credit: Wikimedia Commons) 

In politics, on the other side of the struggle for the hearts and minds of the people of Quebec, we had Pierre Elliot Trudeau. He had come to power by his obvious wit, intelligence, and charisma well before the 1980 referendum, and he had put in place many pieces of legislation that did protect the French language right across Canada. School programs, for example, in which students could study subjects in French right through to grade 12 graduation. Even in provinces far away from Quebec. Like British Columbia, where I taught for 33 years.

So how did the Quebec referendum of 1980 go? The “no” side, the side against separating from Canada, won resoundingly. 60% “no”, 40% “yes”. In politics, a margin that wide is an ass-kicking. I remember Rene Levesque, the premier of Quebec and chief separatist, crying profusely on t.v. that night. And I am very sure that in the privacy of my mind, I was enormously relieved at the outcome, but I was also sad for him. He had risked all on one roll of the dice. He had lost. Quebecers might vote for him provincially, but they did not want to leave their country. High drama. For us, it really was. Up there with assassinations inside the land of our neighbors to the south. Kennedy, King, Kennedy, Malcolm, etc.

So what’s my point today?

If Putin really were sincere and really did care about democratic principles, the current mess in Ukraine would not be happening. Were there people in Canada who were enraged by the thought of Quebec just up and pulling out of Canada? Of course. Some thought the rest of Canada should invade and block any steps that the Quebec government might begin to take toward real separation if they began to take them after a different referendum vote. But they were a very tiny minority in Alberta and B.C. I’m sure of this. I lived in both of these provinces. We, TROC (the rest of Canada), were ready to sadly let Quebec go. We would all muddle through somehow. Some Westerners thought B.C and Alberta should join the US, if the Americans would have them. The Maritime provinces in the East would have been on their own.

There was another referendum in 1995 and it was much closer. The hostility on both sides, among the minorities that like hostility, rose and fell over the years. But Quebec is still here and looks like it will be for generations. The haters have, by and large, on every side, worn themselves out and shut up.

And I will also mention that in the former Czechoslovakia the result in a very similar referendum was opposite from that in Canada. They call the separation of Czech Republic and Slovakia a “velvet” divorce. They are separate countries. But they separated peacefully.  

The key theme I am touching on this morning is choice. The indicator of justice.

Again, with little doubt in my mind, I can say to Vladimir Putin and his cronies: the people of Ukraine don’t want you! Take the country, and you’ll only end up with a much worse situation to try to manage. Too many of you are criminals. Thieves. Liars. Bullies. Murderers. And Russia’s GDP is less than Canada’s. Russia has almost four times Canada’s population. Your way doesn’t work.

The people of Ukraine really, really want you to leave. Save face in some ways in the terms of the treaties you strike with Ukraine. But leave. Ukraine does not like you. Leave.

My sad, but determined thoughts on a rainy Wednesday morning in rural B.C.  

                                 Maurice Richard (credit: Wikimedia Commons)