NDP’s separatism conundrum: developing policy for new MPs who say, ‘Oui’

MONTREAL – Several of the NDP’s new Quebec MPs have expressed support for Quebec independence, putting the party on a collision course with an issue it may rather avoid: national unity.

The party is celebrating its success in knocking out the Bloc Quebecois and bringing nationalist Quebecers back into the fold of national politics, following two decades of disengagement.

But the divergent leanings within the NDP caucus on such a fundamental issue raise questions about how Jack Layton plans to maintain peace within his own party, let alone the federation, when divisive issues inevitably pop up.

The freshly minted NDP MP from Laurentides-Labelle, Marc-Andre Morin, paused for about 10 seconds when asked whether he had been a supporter of Quebec independence.

“I supported the Bloc for a long time,” said Morin, whose riding is northwest of Montreal.

“I saw that in a certain context it could have been justified,” he added. “But I think that things have changed in Canada and Quebec, and it is perhaps not as pertinent now as it was in the past.”

One promising rookie MP sent an email during the campaign explaining that he was still a Quebec sovereigntist and still supported the sovereigntist left-wing provincial party Quebec solidaire.

“Anyone can be in the NDP as long as they defend the program,” wrote Alexandre Boulerice, who is likely to play a prominent role, in the late-March email to Montreal’s Le Devoir.

“We can also prioritize social and environmental questions before the national question.”

The party’s youngest MP, 19-year-old Pierre-Luc Dusseault, raised eyebrows Thursday with a less than ringing endorsement of Canadian unity in a radio interview.

“Sovereignty will be done in Quebec. And Quebecers will decide if they want to be a country,” he told Toronto radio host John Oakley.

“(While) awaiting this moment, I’ve said why not give us a real government that is good for us. . . We will respect sovereignty with the NDP.”

The comment appeared to be interpreted by the host as a prediction that Quebec would become independent.

But Dusseault, who has said he wants to improve his English, simply seemed to be repeating a common mantra in the province that the issue of sovereignty would be decided by the people of Quebec.

After being pressed by the host, Dusseault explained: “Yeah, I’m a federalist. But I respect sovereignty.”

The openness of such MPs to talk about their sovereigntist sympathies may be disconcerting to some in the rest of Canada, no matter how commonplace it is in Quebec.

But the NDP’s Quebec boss says the rest of Canada should be celebrating the fact that young Quebecers, like Dusseault, want to get involved in traditional federal politics again.

“Here’s what I tell people in the rest of Canada: You should be putting both your arms in the air and saying this is amazing,” said NDP Quebec lieutenant Thomas Mulcair.

“Quebecers are saying we can have faith in a pan-Canadian federalist party like the NDP to bring positive change.”

He said the party doesn’t have to push to reopen the Constitution. It can simply keep pushing issues it has already supported in Parliament — like mandatory bilingualism for Supreme Court judges.

The list of potential friction points is considerable.

Leading candidates include: language debates, plans for a national securities regulator based out of Toronto, the competing visions of an activist national government versus Quebecers’ preference for more provincial autonomy and, perhaps above all else, disputes between provinces over energy policy and climate change.

It remains to be seen whether the re-integration of Quebec nationalists into the national conversation will mark a historic improvement in relations between the province and the rest of Canada.

But there is also the possibility that the NDP will take up the role played by the Bloc, making repeated demands on behalf of Quebec, and that such a stance will create discord inside and outside its caucus.

The last federalist party to contain so many nationalist Quebecers — the Mulroney Tories of the 1980s and early ’90s — blew up into regional factions and led to the creation of the Bloc and Reform parties.

Westerners believed the party had betrayed its base, and prominent sovereigntists like Lucien Bouchard bolted to create the Bloc.

Those battles led to years of unity disputes that have lingered, to varying degrees, to the present day.

The NDP’s eclectic mix of new Quebec MPs now professes a desire to advance Quebec’s interests within the federalist mould.

Much has been made of the party’s less experienced candidates but some, including Boulerice, have used public interviews to list all the talented rookies with varied CVs now entering Parliament.

Sources within the party say they haven’t yet had time to craft a detailed position on the Quebec question.

Officials have been busy getting ready for the return of Parliament, which is slated for mid-May.

They hope to use the party’s upcoming convention in Vancouver this June to formalize a position on national unity.

The new 103-member caucus held its first meeting on Thursday by teleconference. Officials say plans are in the works for a similar meeting in person to take place “shortly.”

The party is also making plans for training sessions for the new MPs. Typically, experienced members will mentor new members on a one-on-one basis, but this time will have to be different because most of the caucus is new.

Both the House of Commons staff and the NDP research bureau will be available to teach the newcomers the ropes, and the party will likely hire some experts on contract as well.

-With files from Heather Scoffield in Ottawa.