Talk:Partition of Quebec

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[edit] Rewrite

This article needs to be completely rewritten. Most of the references and quotes are from daily newspapers(!) while they should be mostly from law journals and academic publications for such a touchy subject. -- Mathieugp (talk) 04:53, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

I disagree with Mathieugp'a dismissive attitude towards the citation of articles from daily newspapers. While the additions to this article from academic publications that he suggests would be most welcome, the newspaper articles are primary documents from the period when partition was in the news in the mid-1990s, as are the press releases, the summary of poll results published by the Angus Reid Group, etc.

To the best of my knowledge, the poll data on popular attitudes regarding partition has never been collected and reviewed in a single journal article. So I am at a loss as to how one would rewrite the article to eliminate the six or seven references to newspaper articles containing poll results, without eliminating the capacity of readers to independently verify the validity of the cited information.

Prometheus Unbowed (talk) 17:28, 13 April 2008 (UTC)

It is not suggested to remove the citations, but to rewrite the article so the subject is treated with intelligence. Newspaper articles from the daily press cannot alone provide the references for an article on a subject of public international law.

- First, the FUD on partition comes from these very media.

- Second, none of the journalists cited has ever made any attempt at enlightening their readers on the legal facts, they have just echoed whatever the pamphleteers and partisans of this option have voiced. We are betting citing them directly than through the filter of the press.

- Third, without corporate support, the subject of the partition of Quebec would have received little to no echo, because the issue was settled in 1992, with the legal opinion of Thomas Franck, Rosalyn Higgins, Alain Pellet, Malcolm Shaw, Christian Tomuschat, who were asked simple questions by a commission of the National Assembly, for the first time in history united across party lines to inquire on the political future of Quebec. In consequence of this opinion, political scientists and jurists who are not blinded by chauvinism understand that the partition of Quebec can only be done two ways:

1) by an act of aggression, which implies the violation of international law by Canada, the country of peace keeping or

2) if Quebec is stupid enough to wish to open negotiations on the subject.

That "the poll data on popular attitudes regarding partition has never been collected and reviewed in a single journal article" tells a great deal on the importance the subject has received from academia, doesn't it?

In any case, here is what one finds with a very quick search:

1980 - William F. Shaw and Lionel Albert. Partition: The price of Quebec's independence: A realistic look at the possibility of Quebec separating from Canada and becoming an independent state

1992 - Scott Reid. Canada remapped: How the partition of Quebec will reshape the nation, 1992

1996 - Trevor McAlpine. The partition principle: Remapping Quebec after separation

1996 - BARRY CAME with E. KAYE FULTON in Ottawa and LIZ WARWICK in Montreal. Ottawa Endorses Québec Partition

1996 - ROGER ANNIS. Ottawa Threatens Partition Of Quebec Move Aims To Derail Growing Sentiment For Independence From Canada

1996 - P.J. Monahan & M.J. Bryant with N.C. Côté. "Coming to Terms with Plan B: Ten Principles Governing Secession", in D.R. Cameron, ed., The Referendum Papers: Essays on Secession and National Unity (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999).

2003 - De Lydia Anita Miljan and Barry Cooper. Hidden Agendas. How Journalists Influence the News - Chapter 7. Partition of Quebec (very interesting, shows the direct influence of Conrad Black in getting the issue to be covered in the news and also how the language of the journalist determines how the subject is treated.)

In French, there is this:

Souveraineté : Partition, a complete dossiers prepared by Vigile.net over the years:

1996 - Claude G. Charron. La partition du Québec : de Lord Durham à Stéphane Dion

1997 - Le mouvement partitionniste et les frontières d'un Québec souverain by Génération Québec

-- Mathieugp (talk) 03:34, 14 April 2008 (UTC)