A columnist for the Toronto Globe and Mail notes that Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia could give a boost to Quebec’s on-again-off-again independence movement:
QUEBEC CITY — Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence is a clear example of how powerless the federal government would be to stop Quebec from doing the same, according to influential Quebec City lawyer André Joli-Coeur.
Mr. Joli-Coeur, who 10 years ago made the same argument before the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec secession reference, said that should Ottawa recognize the declaration of independence of Kosovo, it will have difficulty refusing Quebec the same status should the province eventually declare its independence.
“The case of Kosovo clearly demonstrates that the essential factors in the creation of a state are the will of the population of the territory concerned and the attitude of the international community,” Mr. Joli-Coeur stated in a letter to The Globe and Mail. “The predecessor state does not necessarily play a decisive role in such matters.”
Recognizing Kosovo independence could one day backfire against Ottawa, he argued.
“Canada will be reminded of its probable support for the declaration of independence of Kosovo when the matter of Quebec’s sovereignty arises in the future,” he stated.
On some level, he has a point. Serbia can object as much as it wants to Kosovo’s declaration of independence but with major powers like the United States recognizing the new government, and NATO troops on the border with Serbia protecting the new state, it’s going to be next to impossible for Serbia to do anything about it. The same thing would have happened during our own Civil War if Great Britain and France had granted diplomatic recognition, and military protection on some level, to the Confederacy. Secession would have been a fait accompli regardless of whether it was legal or legitimate (for the record, I don’t think that it was).
I don’t know how serious the Quebec secession movement is these days. On some level, it seems like a relic of the 1970s, but it’s apparently still boiling below the surface. If Canada does recognize Kosovo, they’ll have a hard time arguing against the withdrawal of Quebec from the nation.
H/T: Freedom Democrats
February 23rd, 2008 at 9:45 am
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