- Reaction score
- 0
- Points
- 110
Canadian Press
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OTTAWA â †An independent Quebec would have its own military forces and spy service, says Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe, taking a firm stand on a traditionally wrenching issue for separatists.
"There'll be an army, of course," Mr. Duceppe said Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"We have to have those organizations, I would say."
The leader of the sovereigntist Bloc indicated the notion of creating a distinct security apparatus in a newly independent Quebec was no longer as controversial as it has been in the past.
"I went around Quebec saying the same thing I just said to you, and I see no opposition at all," Mr. Duceppe said.
The provincial Parti Québécois has wrestled for years with the question of a military force for a sovereign Quebec. Past general meetings of the PQ have included emotional pleas against a Quebec armed forces.
But the independence movement needs to evolve, Mr. Duceppe said. That evolution might begin in about 10 days.
The Bloc will examine the role the nascent armed forces of Quebec might play at a policy meeting in Montreal that begins Oct. 28.
"What kind of foreign policy will we have? What kind of national defence? What kind of equipment, and so on?"
The threat of terrorism has also forced sovereignty supporters to re-evaluate the security needs of an independent Quebec, the Bloc leader said.
Quebec shares a lengthy border with the United States, which has been very demanding of Ottawa on issues related to security since the Sept. 11 airliner attacks.
Mr. Duceppe acknowledged those demands, while criticizing the federal government for rushing out to buy new military equipment without clearly defining what it wants the Canadian Armed Forces to do.
For instance, he said instead of submarines the military might be better off with "smart ships" that could transport troops and equipment to disaster zones and be transformed into floating hospitals.
"If you develop a foreign policy the way we see it, then we'll have an army that will intervene mainly to secure democracy in some countries, participating in international forces, going when there's a natural catastrophe, either inside Quebec or outside Quebec," Mr. Duceppe said.
"And sometimes you have to go to war."
Defence Department documents prepared in the tense months leading up to the October 1995 sovereignty referendum â †narrowly won by No forces â †said an independent Quebec would find it "very costly" to develop a full-fledged military and could have difficulty gaining entry to NATO and other international alliances.
An internal memo noted such a force would require land facilities, equipment, personnel and the full spectrum of training tools and manuals.
It said "an indication of the costs" of maintaining a credible force for Quebec, with a population of 7.3 million, could be determined through comparisons with other countries.
For instance, Austria, population 7.5 million, had a defence budget of $2.3 billion, while Sweden, with 8 million people, spent $6.9-billion on its military. Expenditures by Norway and Switzerland figured between the two extremes.
As the 1995 referendum approached, the Parti Québécois government of the day said that, after separation, the province would take part in UN peacekeeping missions and take steps to remain a member of NATO and NORAD.
The Defence Department memo concluded "it is impossible to determine whether an independent Quebec would eventually gain entry" to these organizations. "However, it is unlikely that membership would be automatic."
Mr. Duceppe said while an independent Quebec would co-operate on security issues with the rest of Canada, the United States and Mexico, he stressed the importance of forging alliances with European partners.
He cited a need to examine the roots of terrorist activity and warned that if people surrender liberty in favour of undue security measures to thwart terrorists, "you're playing their game."
Mr. Duceppe made it clear his party would continue to send MPs to Ottawa as long as Quebeckers want sovereigntists to represent them.
The secessionist Bloc was formed in 1990 as an angry response to unsuccessful attempts to satisfy Quebec's constitutional demands. The party was seen initially as a temporary force on the federal scene â †the so-called "shock troops" of Quebec independence.
But 15 years later the party has become a fixture in Parliament, cementing its dominance in Quebec by securing 54 of the province's 75 seats in the 2004 election.
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http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051019/quebec_army_duceppe_051019/20051019?hub=Canada
The Bloc has continued to lead in polls of Quebec voters amid revelations of federal misspending in the sponsorship affair, a scandal many Quebeckers see as demeaning.
Still, it is unclear when, or even if, the Quebec government will put sovereignty to another ballot.
--
OTTAWA â †An independent Quebec would have its own military forces and spy service, says Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe, taking a firm stand on a traditionally wrenching issue for separatists.
"There'll be an army, of course," Mr. Duceppe said Tuesday in an interview with The Canadian Press.
"We have to have those organizations, I would say."
The leader of the sovereigntist Bloc indicated the notion of creating a distinct security apparatus in a newly independent Quebec was no longer as controversial as it has been in the past.
"I went around Quebec saying the same thing I just said to you, and I see no opposition at all," Mr. Duceppe said.
The provincial Parti Québécois has wrestled for years with the question of a military force for a sovereign Quebec. Past general meetings of the PQ have included emotional pleas against a Quebec armed forces.
But the independence movement needs to evolve, Mr. Duceppe said. That evolution might begin in about 10 days.
The Bloc will examine the role the nascent armed forces of Quebec might play at a policy meeting in Montreal that begins Oct. 28.
"What kind of foreign policy will we have? What kind of national defence? What kind of equipment, and so on?"
The threat of terrorism has also forced sovereignty supporters to re-evaluate the security needs of an independent Quebec, the Bloc leader said.
Quebec shares a lengthy border with the United States, which has been very demanding of Ottawa on issues related to security since the Sept. 11 airliner attacks.
Mr. Duceppe acknowledged those demands, while criticizing the federal government for rushing out to buy new military equipment without clearly defining what it wants the Canadian Armed Forces to do.
For instance, he said instead of submarines the military might be better off with "smart ships" that could transport troops and equipment to disaster zones and be transformed into floating hospitals.
"If you develop a foreign policy the way we see it, then we'll have an army that will intervene mainly to secure democracy in some countries, participating in international forces, going when there's a natural catastrophe, either inside Quebec or outside Quebec," Mr. Duceppe said.
"And sometimes you have to go to war."
Defence Department documents prepared in the tense months leading up to the October 1995 sovereignty referendum â †narrowly won by No forces â †said an independent Quebec would find it "very costly" to develop a full-fledged military and could have difficulty gaining entry to NATO and other international alliances.
An internal memo noted such a force would require land facilities, equipment, personnel and the full spectrum of training tools and manuals.
It said "an indication of the costs" of maintaining a credible force for Quebec, with a population of 7.3 million, could be determined through comparisons with other countries.
For instance, Austria, population 7.5 million, had a defence budget of $2.3 billion, while Sweden, with 8 million people, spent $6.9-billion on its military. Expenditures by Norway and Switzerland figured between the two extremes.
As the 1995 referendum approached, the Parti Québécois government of the day said that, after separation, the province would take part in UN peacekeeping missions and take steps to remain a member of NATO and NORAD.
The Defence Department memo concluded "it is impossible to determine whether an independent Quebec would eventually gain entry" to these organizations. "However, it is unlikely that membership would be automatic."
Mr. Duceppe said while an independent Quebec would co-operate on security issues with the rest of Canada, the United States and Mexico, he stressed the importance of forging alliances with European partners.
He cited a need to examine the roots of terrorist activity and warned that if people surrender liberty in favour of undue security measures to thwart terrorists, "you're playing their game."
Mr. Duceppe made it clear his party would continue to send MPs to Ottawa as long as Quebeckers want sovereigntists to represent them.
The secessionist Bloc was formed in 1990 as an angry response to unsuccessful attempts to satisfy Quebec's constitutional demands. The party was seen initially as a temporary force on the federal scene â †the so-called "shock troops" of Quebec independence.
But 15 years later the party has become a fixture in Parliament, cementing its dominance in Quebec by securing 54 of the province's 75 seats in the 2004 election.
--
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051019/quebec_army_duceppe_051019/20051019?hub=Canada
The Bloc has continued to lead in polls of Quebec voters amid revelations of federal misspending in the sponsorship affair, a scandal many Quebeckers see as demeaning.
Still, it is unclear when, or even if, the Quebec government will put sovereignty to another ballot.
