Pros and Cons of the Quebec Separation Issue

The separation of Quebec is a very controversial issue in Canada, but why? Some people, such as those who live in Quebec believe Quebec should separate from Canada. They believe that their province would be better off on its own as its own country. Others, mainly those from other parts of the country, but still some from Quebec believe that Quebec should stay, that Quebec is a big part of Canada and would not be the same without it. If Quebec stays, Canada maintains its large piece of land on the map, the history that goes along with it, and the millions of people living there, but if Quebec separates, Canada would get rid of a large chunk of its debt (which would go to Quebec). This raises two very important arguments between for and those against the separation of Quebec from Canada.

There are several benefits of Quebec separating from Canada. If Quebec were to separate, there would be no more disputes over the French and English languages that are spoken in Canada. Canada could have its bilingualism, and Quebec could become its own strictly French nation with no English spoken anywhere. Canada is a bilingual country; French is even mandatory in English schools up to and including grade 9. It isn’t right if Quebec is only going to offer a French education to its children. Quebec is already separate in a way from Canada. They have their own civil laws, and their street signs only read in French. In 1980 there was a referendum to separate Quebec from Canada. This referendum was defeated when 41.5% of the people voted “yes” and 56.5% voted “no.” But the Quebecers were still fed up. Many people still did not want to be part of Canada, so they decided to try again. This time, it seemby a 50.58 % to 49.42 % margin, the closest in the history of Canada.ed to have more support than ever before, even from people that didn’t live in Quebec (although people who didn’t live in Quebec weren’t involved in the vote.) It took place in 1995, and the motion to pursue independence was again narrowly defeated

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Whenever there are pros to an issue, the cons are never far behind. There is a big downside to Quebec separating from Canada. Canada is a bilingual country, the world’s first in fact and despite the fact that Quebec likes to be called “strictly French”, it is still a huge part of its bilingualism. Almost every person who lives in Quebec knows some form of French, and anyone who doesn’t is probably in the process of learning it. People who are visiting from French-speaking countries may be attracted to the Quebec area because of its French-speaking nature. This is good for the tourism industry and can bring in some extra bucks to help pay off Canada’s debt.

Canada is also country that has a population of 30 million plus, that number growing each day. We are also the second largest country in the world as far as actual land goes. If Quebec were to separate from Canada, we would lose all of this. Out population would shrink by 7.4 million people, and the size of our country would fall down almost 16 percent. And just think if you took Quebec off of the map. There would be a massive whole in Canada. Would it still be possible for Canada to survive? Would the east and the west be able to survive or would they be forced to join the United States?

Quebec has flourished in Canada and proven it doesn’t have to leave to achieve its needs.  It made French its official language by passing Law 101. Despite the rising increase in English-speaking, it has raised the number of Francophones in the province to the highest level ever. We sometimes fail to realize that Francophones have jumped on top of the Quebec economy to produced some of Canada’s and the world’s leading technologies, companies and financial institutions like Bombardier (snowmobiles, all terrain vehicles, military aircraft, trains), Hydro Quebec, and le Cirque du Soleil. If Quebec ever separated, it would no longer be a part of NAFTA and would be forced to pay heavy duties on imports and exports of their goods. This would then cause them to raise the price of their merchandise which would eventually stop selling because of the availability of cheaper goods elsewhere.

Does all of this mean something? Why does Quebec keep trying to separate? Obviously they don’t want to be a part of Canada, so they should become a country of their own. Now some may say that the reason these referendums have not gone through is because people are scared of becoming independent. They are scared of the thought of their province, Quebec, not being a part of Canada. Does this make sense? Not at all. If you want to separate from something, then do it. If you want to stay with that something, then stay with it. But don’t try and do both, that will get you nowhere and the fights will continue to plague the whole country. The real reason for this is that the people who vote for Quebec to stay a part of Canada are mostly middle aged people while the people that want Quebec to separate from Canada are the younger people and the older people. According to the website crave.com, “Eventually, the young will be a majority and the “yes” vote side will win.” It will end with them leaving, but not before more and more conflicts between the two sides, so they might as well go now.

Another reason why Quebec should separate is that Canada has a large debt of over 150 billion dollars. This debt has been accumulating over the years, but Canada is slowly starting to come out of it. 25% of this debt would be the sole responsibility of Quebec if they were to separate which would make Canada at least 35 billion dollars further out of that debt. Although we will have lost a bit of our economy through the separation, this money would surely make up it for that loss. This would give Quebecers a nice discrepancy in their bank account to start off their country and eventually, they would have to start borrowing money from Canada. Over the years Quebec would start to pay the money back, with interest, and Canada’s debt would be almost cut in half.

The separation of Quebec from Canada is a very controversial issue. Should it happen or shouldn’t it? Those for would like to see it happen so Canada can get rid of the French language all together, and to stop all the fighting and arguing that is constantly going on between both sides. They would also like them to separate for the sake of money that they would be paying to Canada. Others do not want Quebec to separate from Canada because they believe that it is a very important part of the Country. It connects the west to the east, the east to the west. Without it, there would be a very big hole right in the middle of the country and the rest of Canada would probably be forced to join the United States. I myself would not like to see Quebec separate from Canada for a few reasons. If they did separate, Nova Scotia would most likely join the U.S. Now although I do like to visit the country, I would never want to be a part of it. Another reason is that I enjoy shopping in Quebec and driving through Quebec. It’s a fun place to be and the shopping never ends. Canada is just not the same without Quebec. As long as these two sides continue to fight and argue, the separation of Quebec will remain a very controversial issue in Canada.

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