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February 6, 2004

Assuming that the Prime Minister appoints political lieutenants that will share his vision of the country and each respective province, it is not a stretch to determine that Paul Martin is at best, lukewarm to the Clarity Act.

Of course, Mr. Martin is already trying to assuage cries of outrage from across the country after he appointed Bloc Quebecois co-founder and Liberal turncoat Jean Lapierre as his top political operative in Quebec.  His weak assertion yesterday on the French language network of the CBC that "Mr. Lapierre said we wanted to put it in a drawer" rather than scrap it altogether, however, just doesn't cut it for federalists who have witnessed this unsuccessful approach to Quebec before.

Brian Mulroney's failed attempts at bringing Quebec nationalists into the fold blew up in his face by giving Lucien Bouchard the impetus he needed to form the Bloc Quebecois, which eventually became the Official Opposition in 1993.  It was Mr. Mulroney rather than the oft-blamed Jean Chretien that laid the foundations for the the 1995 Quebec referendum and the Separatist movement's 49.4% result.

The Clarity Act was the biggest blow the Separatist movement had encountered in decades, and was a major factor in both the downfall of the PQ provincial government and the crumbling of the Bloc from national relevance.

The enthusiastic welcome that Mr. Martin has extended to Mr. Lapierre will not convince soft nationalists to jump to the Liberals, but rather give the Separatist movement hope in a Prime Minister that will set federalism in this country back 15 years.

Comments? jonathan@tdhstrategies.com