Robert Bourassa's speech on the end of the Meech Lake Accord
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On June 22 1990, Premier Robert Bourassa gave to the National Assembly of Quebec a speech on the end of the Meech Lake Accord. It conveyed the general indignation of the representatives of the Quebec people regarding the rejection of the Accord by English Canada.
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Description
The speech was delivered moments after the death of the Meech Lake Accord became obvious, and two days before the Quebec National Holiday of 1990, which saw a massive public demonstration of nationalism. The rejection of Meech was perceived by Quebec nationalists, both sovereigntists and nationalist federalists, as unjust ostracism from Canada towards Quebec. The ratification of the Accord would have indeed officially recognized the national character of Quebec through the euphemism of 'distinct society'.
This speech is widely remembered as Bourassa's greatest speech. In retrospect, it conveyed the general sentiment of outrage and national pride in the Quebec society of the time. As such, it was, and still is, one of the most vibrant and emblematic symbol of the unity of Quebecers at the time, after years of differences between sovereigntists and federalists.
On the other hand, some say that Bourassa failed to live up to this speech. It opened up a reflexion on Quebec autonomy and independence within Bourassa's governing Parti libéral du Québec (traditionally opposed to independence), but the party elites finally closed all doors on the possibility of considering indepencence. This led to a revolt within the party, which in turn lead to the creation of a splinter party of disgruntled nationalist Liberals, the Action Démocratique du Québec, and a rejection of the party by the population in the 1994 Quebec election.
The most memorable quote from the speech is: [...] English Canada must clearly understand that, no matter what is said or done, Quebec is, today and forever, a distinct society, that is free and able to assume the control of its destiny and development. Bourassa's particular phrasing was inspired by a speech of Charles de Gaulle about Algerian sovereignty.
Reaction
The speech was followed by a historic quote of sovereigntist Leader of the Opposition Jacques Parizeau calling Bourassa mon Premier Ministre and offering him to find a way for the future of Quebec together. This lead to the undertaking of the bipartisan Commission on the Political and Constitutional Future of Quebec.
The speech also gave Quebecers the impression that Robert Bourassa was then open to all options, even the calling of a referendum on independence. Judging by the polls published afer the failure of Meech, it is plausible that a majority of Quebecers would have chosen independence had there been a referendum on the issue.
Following the rejection of the Allaire Report's conclusions by the Liberal Party of Quebec, people like journalist Jean-François Lisée (in his famous books Le Tricheur and Le Naufrageur) argued that Robert Bourassa voluntarily pretended to be opened to a referendum on independence as a tactic to pressure English Canada, while he in fact remained opposed to the idea.
The speech in documentary
The writing of the speech is discussed by Bourassa himself in the documentary Le Mouton noir, directed by his friend and past Brébeuf collegemate Jacques Godbout.
Transcript
- Wikisource article (http://wikisource.org/wiki/Robert_Bourassa%27s_speech_on_the_end_of_the_Meech_Lake_Accord)
Excerpts
- Audio excerpt of the final part of the speech
- Video of the whole original speech on SRC.ca (http://archives.radio-canada.ca/IDCC-0-17-900-5266/politique_economie/robert_bourassa/)
- English dubbing of the speech on CBC.ca (http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-1180-6498/politics_economy/meech_lake/clip10)