TY - BOOK ID - 77884526 TI - Straight talk PY - 1999 SN - 1282858114 9786612858116 0773567887 9780773567887 0773518568 9780773518568 0773518533 9780773518537 0773520392 9780773520394 9781282858114 6612858117 PB - Montreal, Que. McGill-Queen's University Press DB - UniCat KW - Federal government KW - Secession KW - Federal-provincial relations KW - Dominion-provincial relations KW - Federal-provincial controversies KW - Federal-provincial disputes KW - Provincial-federal relations KW - Federal-provincial relations (Canada) KW - Constitutional law KW - Provincial governments KW - Sovereignty KW - Separatist movements KW - Canada KW - Québec (Province) KW - English-French relations. KW - Politics and government KW - History KW - Autonomy and independence movements. KW - French-English relations KW - Quebec (Province) UR - https://www.unicat.be/uniCat?func=search&query=sysid:77884526 AB - So begins this collection of Stéphane Dion's speeches from 1996 to 1998. Organized around four central themes, Straight Talk shows the breadth and strength of Dion's convictions. Dion believes that Canada is first and foremost a nation of caring people, in contrast to the image projected by the endless, dry constitutional debate. He argues that the melding of diversity and unity that is the basis of this nation is possible only because of the particular federalism that Canadians have invented. This federalism, however, is far from perfect and it is the responsibility of government to continue to work to improve it, always remembering that its core must be the quality of service it provides to Canadians. Dion believes that the Quebec question is not a constitutional question but one that concerns identity: many francophones believe that their identity and culture are not respected in the rest of Canada and see the anglophone majority as a force for assimilation, while many in other provinces feel that separatists do not share the same values of openness and tolerance. He believes strongly that the secession process the Parti Québecois has proposed - effecting independence on the basis of incorrect legal theory, an unclear referendum question, and a majority of fifty percent plus one - is difficult to reconcile with democracy and raises questions that must be discussed openly and resolved democratically. Straight Talk is a refreshingly honest and frank discussion about a matter that has been at the forefront of Canadian's thoughts for too many years. ER -