Canada, Adieu? Quebec Debates Its Future

David De Brou is an assistant professor of history at the University of
Saskatchewan.

The Quebec government’s response to the demise of the Meech Lake
Accord in June 1990 was swift. Within three months the Quebec National
Assembly established the Commission on the Political and Constitutional
Future of Quebec (the Bélanger-Campeau Commission) with the mandate
“to examine and analyze the political and constitutional status of
Quebec and to make recommendations in respect thereof.” The
recommendations of the commission formed the basis for Bill 150, which
provided for the holding of a June or October 1992 referendum on
Quebec’s constitutional future. In hopes of bridging the “language
divide” between Quebec and English-speaking Canada, the Halifax-based
Institute for Research on Public Policy has co-published the
commission’s report and a selection of the written presentations made
to the commissioners. Canada, Adieu? presents the views of a wide range
of groups and individuals—political parties; business and farm
associations; trade unions; women’s, aboriginal, and immigrant
organizations; economists; academics; English Quebeckers and
francophones outside Quebec—underlining the complexities of Quebec
society in the 1990s. The book reveals the genuine anguish and confusion
in the post-Meech period and the common desire to have Quebec flourish,
whether it be inside or outside of Canada. For the most part, Quebeckers
believe that they have gone the extra mile—now it’s up to the rest
of Canada to decide if the extra mile is worth the effort.