The Clarity Act and the NDP

In today's Toronto Star, Thomas Axworthy, a former principal secretary to Pierre Trudeau, points out the danger of the NDP's assertion it would be willing to throw out the Clarity Act should the party come to power.

For those with foggy memories, the Clarity Act was a piece of legislation passed in the House of Commons that would require any question over Quebec separation to be a clear one in order for any vote on soverigenty to be considered legitimate.

The reasoning being the people of Quebec must understand that should they decide to separate from Canada, they would no longer be Canadian citizens, no longer be able to hold a Canadian passport, and they would give up all right to participate in Canadian federal elections. Quebec would quite literally be a separate nation.

Layton's dismissal of the Clarity Act is a potentially serious issue, despite the fact that Canada has enjoyed relative peace over the issue of Quebec separation for many years now.

As Stéphane Dion, Chrétien's lieutenant, has written in an open letter to NDP leader Jack Layton: "Since the Clarity Act became the law of the land in 2000, with the proud support of the NDP, the separatist leaders have had a much tougher time playing their favourite tactic: hiding their secessionism behind a screen of confusion and ambiguity."

Yet Layton would throw all this away: Layton has said the NDP would recognize a unilateral declaration of independence by Quebec and repeal the Clarity Act. The NDP Leader unilaterally took this position in 2000 despite the fact that most NDP MPs voted in favour of the act and NDP House leader Bill Blaikie has praised it as one of Chrétien's greatest achievement.

Layton's pandering to Quebec nationalists, however, is serious because in a minority House of Commons, the Bloc and the NDP might make common cause to demand the repeal of the Clarity Act as their price for supporting the government of the day. (click here for the full article)

I'm a great believer in clarity. I think important questions, such as the break up of Canada, need to be dealt with in the clearest terms possible, so that people understand the consequences of their actions. In some of my other posts here on BlogsCanada I've been critical of the Conservatives for their lack of clarity over their stances on a whole variety of issues, but in particular on their social conservative agenda. I think they are hiding their true character in order to appeal to a broader base of voters.

I think Layton and the NDP, in their desire to appeal to Quebec voters, have made the mistake of assuming that they can do it by appealing to soft Quebec nationalists. I feel that is a grave error, because not only is that distasteful politics that soft nationalists can clearly see through, it potentially sells the rest of Canada short.