CHAPTER 17

Non-Francophones and the Two Question Referendum

How important is it for the success of the Two Question Referendum to have public support for the “yes” option from Quebec’s non-Francophone community?

Perhaps the greatest advantage of the Two Question Referendum is that the non-Francophone community -- that traditional bastion of apathy, fragmentation, and irrational devotion to Canada -- doesn't have to support the Two Question Referendum for it to work. All that is required of the Quebec West resident is that he show up to vote on Day 1 and decide whether, in what will appear to be the likely event of Quebec independence, he would like to have full civil rights. That's all. The "hedge against the inevitable" factor will take care of the rest.

Nevertheless, the non-Francophone community will still have to be informed of the merits of voting "yes" on Question 1. However, the emphasis will not be on selling the idea of independence; that, of course, would be an exercise in futility. The emphasis will be on why independence is inevitable, how to "hedge against the inevitable", the benefits of creating Quebec West in an independent Quebec, and, if the non-Francophones vote “no” on Question 1 on Day 1, the disadvantages of living in an independent Quebec in which the nationalists control non-Francophone civil rights.

We should never underestimate the high regard that the concept of freedom has in the hearts and minds of

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