3 updates at the bottom…
On his blog, Warren Kinsella calmly asks: “WHO WILL SPEAK FOR CANADA, NOW?”
Well, to answer Warren’s question, it appears that the man who will speak for Canada is…wait for it…Jimmy K:
However, at least one Liberal, Jim Karygiannis, said he would oppose [Harper’s motion].
“Are we going to have a Greek nation within Canada, a Ukrainian nation within Canada, a Chinese nation within Canada? Sorry, Canada is the nation,” Karygiannis asked.
UPDATE: Andrew Coyne, who is shockingly not amused by this, has more reaction, including this piece.
UPDATE 2: Go on and Bleed has some classic quotes.
UPDATE 3 – A United Canada?: The Globe has quotes from some living people:
• Quebec Premier Jean Charest: “The recognition of Quebec as a nation is a way for us to occupy the place that is owed us in Canada and elsewhere in the world. In my view it is a very significant gesture.” (The Globe and Mail)
• Manitoba Premier Gary Doer: “To me, Canada is one nation, one country. I understand Quebec is unique in terms of language, culture and law, but Canada is one country.” (Winnipeg Free Press)
• Alberta Residents League chairman Pat Beauchamp: “Go ahead. If you are a nation within a nation, just go ahead and leave. Leave completely.” (Calgary Herald)
• The Edmonton Sun: “Up until about mid-afternoon yesterday, we thought Prime Minister Stephen Harper was doing a pretty good job in the office he was handed – if only on a trial basis – last January. But some time about halfway between lunchtime and the supper hour yesterday he lost us. And we fear he may have turned off a whole lot of other Canadians in the process.”
• The Globe and Mail: “Mr. Harper has mitigated the damage by removing most of the political sting from the word (nation), while leaving the recognition of Quebeckers as a special community within Canada. Hard to argue with that, even if you belong to a different special community.”
• The National Post: “We must somehow summon up all our will — and leave well enough alone. We wish Mr. Harper had had the will to do so, rather than starting down a path few in this country want him to take.”
• Winnipeg Free Press editorial: “Mr. Harper had an opportunity to speak for Canada to all Canadians, and he did not.”