Canada Parliament recognises Quebecers as nation within united Canada

CANADA: The Canadian Parliament recognized Quebecers as a nation within a united Canada on Monday, backing a controversial proposal that already prompted one minister in the minority Conservative government to quit.

The House of Commons, Parliament's elected chamber, voted 266-16 in favour of the motion, which the government said it saw as a way to head off pressure from French-speaking separatists who want to break away from Canada.

Critics said the proposal could actually bolster the separatists, and the pro-independence Bloc Quebecois said it would use the change to demand extra powers, including Quebec's right to speak at international meetings.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong resigned over the vote and said the separatists would use it to sow confusion.

"I believe in this great country of ours, and I believe in one nation, undivided, called Canada," Chong, whose Cabinet brief included Ottawa's ties with Quebec and Canadian provinces, told a news conference.

"They (the separatists) will argue that if the Quebecois are a nation within Canada, then they are certainly a nation without Canada."

Chong's resignation does not threaten the government's survival, but underlines political tensions over the status of Quebec, which has held two failed referendums over whether to break away from Canada.

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper drafted the motion last week in response to one from the Bloc that recognized Quebecers as a nation, but did not include the words "within a united Canada."

The news for Harper did not improve later on Monday when Conservative candidates did poorly in two by-elections to fill vacant seats in Parliament.

The party had hopes of capturing London North Centre in the powerful central province of Ontario but came in third behind the Green Party and the victorious Liberals, who had won the seat in the Jan. 23 election this year.

As expected, the Bloc easily retained control over its stronghold of Repentigny in Quebec, winning 67 percent of the vote compared with just 19 percent for the Conservatives.

Chong said he remained a Conservative member of Parliament and was loyal to Harper. He was the first minister to leave the Cabinet since Harper defeated the Liberals in January. Chong quit after the government said it would dismiss Cabinet ministers if they did not vote for the proposal.

Quebec already calls its legislature the Quebec National Assembly and calls Quebec City its national capital. "It won't change anything in their day-to-day lives," Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, a leading Quebec legislator, insisted during parliamentary debate. "It won't give Quebecers more powers."

OTTAWA, Tuesday, Reuters.