When you re attacked from the outside, you close ranks. That s the meaning of the press conference denouncing the federal legislation by the labour leaders who have been very critical of the Bouchard government of late. There is no public outrage yet in Quebec because no one wants to think about these issues around the holiday season but as the battle is joined, Quebec public opinion will line up against Ottawa as it always does on such issues. Parliament is starting to fall into line too. One of the characteristics of the so-called unity debate is unanimity on both sides.
Reform is on side.
The NDP s caved already and the Tory s are splitting away from Joe Clark s stand against the bill. Chretien s bill is a denial of the right of Quebec to decide its own future. The bill gives the federal government the power to censor whatever question the National Assembly might put forward in a referendum. It also makes clear that if the PQ puts a question on sovereignty-association, which has been the PQ position for 20 years, the federal government will not accept the question as a legitimate basis for negotiation. The Supreme Court decision lays out the rules for succession in a way that both Ottawa and Quebec City can accept.