

             Qubec independence
             will be a daily theme
             BQ whip Duceppe says
             ---------------------


             -  The Nation  -
             ------------------------------------------------------
             The Gazette, Montreal, Monday, December 20, 1993   (?)
             ( Terrance Wills, Gazette Ottawa Bureau )
             ------------------------------------------------------------



             OTTAWA  -  The issue of political independence for Qubec
             will be a daily theme in this new Parliament, according to
             Gilles Duceppe, chief whip of the Bloc Qubcois.

             "I think the government will be preoccupied with the
             question of Qubec's sovereignty. It can't be any other
             way," Duceppe said during an interview in his spacious
             Parliamentary Hill office that affords a sweeping view of
             the Qubec side of the Ottawa River.

             As whip of the official opposition, Duceppe, 45, will play a
             central role in keeping the other 52 BQ members of
             Parliament all singing from same nationalist songbook for
             leader Lucien Bouchard [ ... creeping unavowable subconscient
             racism of a "pro-Canadian-redneck" against Qubec
             Frogmen ! ].

             And in daily House of Commons question period, he'll line up
             his party's spokesmen who will pepper their
             sovereignty-biased queries at Prime Minister Jean Chrtien
             and his ministers.

             "Sovereignty has implications for everything  -  it's not
             like Chrtien said:  the fly on the hood of the car  -  it
             has day-to-day deep roots into daily life.

             "So it will influence every issue to come before
             Parliament," Duceppe said.



             Intergovernmental affairs
             -------------------------

             After a pause, he added: "That doesn't mean that if we're
             discussing economic issues for instance, that you will have
             our answers only when we know that English Canada has other
             answers.

             "We think both concerns, even if they are opposed, are still
             possible. We want to examine each project on its own value
             -  but always through the eyes of our own program."



                                                                   1... /3








             Besides Chrtien and Bouchard and Duceppe, other Quebecers
             [ not Qubcois ! ] will have prominent roles in this new
             House of Commons  -  Paul Martin in Finance, Andr Ouellet
             in Foreign Affairs, Marcel Mass in Intergovernmental
             Affairs.

             Combined with the BQ's intention to press the issue of
             Qubec's sovereignty at every opportunity, that might make
             this the "poutine parliament" rather than the "minority
             pizza parliament" foreseen before the Oct. 25 election that
             gave the Liberals a majority. "Poutine" is the Qubec dish
             of french fries smothered with cheese and gravy.

             But if there is a backlash over the preoccupation of this
             35th Canadian Parliament with Qubec issues  -  "so be it,"
             Duceppe said.

             "It's useless and it's damaging to have a dialogue on
             something which is not reality," he said, seated behind the
             desk in his corner office. It's across the halll from
             Bouchard's suite of offices.

             "This complex on the fourth floor of the Center Block is
             always accorded to the leader of the official opposition.

             "We can't afford to have these idle discussions for another
             two or three years on the constitution without saying the
             truth:  we are not saying we in Qubec are superior, just
             different."

             At the same time, Duceppe strongly rejected the suggestion
             that the separatist cause is a singularly francophone
             phenomenon.

             "That we have a tribal orientation, that is not the case at
             all. When you look at the election results, the only place
             that you have a monolithic vote is in the English ridings on
             the West Island of Montral. Otherwise, it's splintered," he
             said.



             Nearly 15,000 votes
             -------------------

             Son of prominent Qubec actor Jean Duceppe (La famille
             Plouffe, Mon oncle Antoine), Duceppe holds a
             political-science degree from the Universit de Montral. He
             came to Parliament in the summer of 1990 as the first
             elected BQ member, and he won Laurier-Ste.Marie riding again
             this fall by a hearty majority  -  nearly 15,000 votes.

             While he became an avowed separatist in 1967, he said he
             began leaning in that direction after an incident in his
             early teens.


                                                                   2... /3








             On a cold winter day, he had to plead for a ride on a school
             bus that carried only English-school students, and was
             slapped by an anglophone teacher when he complained.

             "If you're talking about social justice, that event marked
             me," he once said.

             The question begs itself:  how can Duceppe and his
             colleagues who have concerned themselves almost exclusively
             with Qubec's destiny, represent the interests of the rest
             of Canada as the official opposition in this Parliament ?

             "It is not the first time in Canadian history:  the Tories
             were the official opposition for years and they had only one
             member in Qubec [ ... as now ! ]," Duceppe replied.

             "We said during the campaign we are here to defend Qubec's
             interests but we don't believe we need to play games with
             the other provinces' interests in doing that.

             "We are also here to explain to Canadians what's going on in
             Qubec and I think for the first time in history we can have
             a real dialogue based on reality."

             The role of official opposition will give the BQ the
             platform to capture the media's attention daily with its
             crusade for a sovereign Qubec.





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