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Toward a Canada-Quebec Union

by (author) Philip Resnick

Publisher
McGill-Queen's University Press
Initial publish date
Apr 1991
Category
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780773508651
    Publish Date
    Apr 1991
    List Price
    $32.95

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Description

Resnick begins Toward a Canada-Quebec Union with an exploration of the conflicting notions of federalism -- and of Canada itself -- that contributed to the demise of the Meech Lake Accord and to the Conservative government's agenda for constitutional reform. He presents an enlightened interpretation of English Canada and Quebec as distinct sociological nations, reveals the deficiencies inherent in official bilingualism and biculturalism, and rejects both the existing form of federalism and the much-touted sovereignty-association as viable constitutional alternatives for the future. The global trend, Resnick observes, is away from the centralized nation-state, and he shows the dangers of sovereignty for Quebec to be very real, both economically and -- given the power of the American colossus -- culturally. Resnick proposes the establishment of separate parliaments and governments in English Canada and Quebec, to be linked by a new institutional arrangement that he calls the Canada- Quebec Union. Reflecting passionately on what Canada and Canadians have suffered recently, he calls for a more open and democratic process of constitutional change that would entail elected constitutional assemblies. He deals also with the two vitally important questions of minority rights and the threat, for all of Canada, of Americanization. Toward a Canada-Quebec Union will provoke strong responses, whether ardently supportive or vehemently critical. There can, however, be no question that Resnick's constructive approach to Canada's constitutional crisis -- seeking a viable alternative to the status quo -- is the necessary first step toward a solution.

About the author

Philip Resnick began writing poetry in Montreal, stopping for a time when he embarked on an academic career at the University of British Columbia. His marriage to Andromache (Mahie), who was Greek, resulted in numerous stays in Thessaly, in the city of Volos, and in a village on adjacent Mount Pelion. These stays rekindled his poetic inspiration and resulted in the publication of a number of collections in the late 1970s and 1980s. Philip has continued to write ever since and has published numerous poems in magazines and journals, as well as a 2015 collection Footsteps of the Past and 2018 collection Passageways. As a political scientist at the University of British Columbia for over forty years until his retirement in 2013, Philip has published widely on political topics. He makes his home in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Philip Resnick's profile page

Editorial Reviews

"provocative, interesting, and well written ... It can, I am sure, make a positive contribution to the protracted constitutional debate which Canadians, whether they like it or not, are about to participate in ... Resnick has shown courage in going out on a limb on many issues." Pierre Fournier, Département de sciences politiques, Université du Québec à Montréal.

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