Normand Lester, one of the best journalists in Quebec in recent decades, has been calling for full disclosure of the archives of the last referendum for several years, in particular the archives of the Grenier Commission that investigated the financing of the No camp.
The person who has researched Option Canada is convinced, and many agree, that the extent of the No camp’s fraud is far greater than even the most outspoken sovereignists, undeceived by the democratic morality of the Canadian state, believe .
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois, has just embraced this claim. He’s right.
Truth
Two main reasons should lead us to support it.
First, the concern for historical truth. In order to win, the state didn’t hesitate to cheat. We’ve known this for years, but we still need to know the scale of the scam and all its dimensions.
Historically, it should be borne in mind that Canada was built by betting on the corruption of Quebec’s elites in order to keep them loyal to the various regimes that made it up, as Stéphane Kelly explains in a classic book entitled La Petite Lottery” did. This is truly profitable federalism: the accomplices of the federal system are tasked with getting Quebecers to accept Canada in exchange for benefiting from a privileged socio-economic situation at the heart of the system and the power networks that depend on it.
This elite in the service of their masters operates on the principle of unconditional federalism and must persuade Quebecers to remain in Canada, regardless of the terms of that maintenance. Robert Laplante, in his monthly editorials for L’Action Nationale, closely analyzes the psychology of those who have traded loyalty to their people for an advantageous position in the Canadian regime.
Coming back to the archives of the No Camp funding: Quebecers, who believe that the debate on the national question involves two camps debating freely and equally about the political future of our people, then risk that Ottawa and those who members of the Quebec federal system do not abide by these rules at all and are entitled by raison d’etat to preserve the territorial integrity of the federation at all costs.
We tend to underestimate and even forget the nature of the relationship of domination exercised over Quebec under Canadian federalism.
That brings us to the second reason.
Quebec begins a new political cycle marked by the rebirth of the national question. The question of independence is once again occupying the public debate, nationalism is once again becoming the dominant political language and sooner or later there will be a new referendum on independence which will be decisive at the climax of history. Everyone feels it: the PQ members who dream of it, the CAQ members who don’t know what to think, the Liberals who fear it, and the Solidarity members who are divided on the issue.
domination
To begin and prepare for this, Quebecers need to know what terrain they are on and how far Ottawa can go to quash their quest for self-determination. In other words, better understanding of the background to the last referendum is essential to implement a successful strategy for the third referendum.
So we come back to this: the opening of these archives is essential from the point of view of historical knowledge and from the point of view of our political future. It remains to be seen how those who can unlock them and make them available to the public will react.
