Bonjour-hi!

Should we be worried about Quebec separation? I have been answering this question since Mom called me on the phone the evening of Nov. 15 1976 after the election of the first PQ government. She wanted to know if we had to pack our bags.

I told her then there was no need to worry. Mom has been thriving here in Quebec ever since even although her French is limited to “Je m’appelle? “je vous aime,” “comme si, comme ca” and for some strange reason, “La plume de ma tante.”

But with the provincial election about two months away, I felt I had to get something off my chest. Allow me for a moment to address “the separatist threat.”

Let’s see. The latest polls indicate the CAQ is leading 39 to 33 overall but among francophones they score an astonishing 48% versus an anemic 23% for the Liberals.

Among us anglos, support for the governing Liberals has plummeted from the stratosphere to a mere 68 per cent.

Why do so many of us continue to flock to the Liberals? Is it because we’re so impressed with the collegial, generous and efficient way Dr. Gaetan “Wasn’t me” Barrette has handled the health care dossier?

Nope. Can’t be that.

Is because Kathleen Weil gave us anglos our very own department Secretariat, named after the thoroughbred race horse who won the Triple Crown back in 1973?

Probably not that either.

Anglos continue to support the Liberals because many of us still remain scared of the separatist boogeyman. Some, I am sure, check under the bed every night to see if a separatist is lurking there just waiting to unleash a referendum.

Separatism is about as popular in Quebec as Donald Trump would be at a Clinton family fish fry.

The Liberals have no intention of having any referendum. Legault has given up on having one since since he noticed that 65% of the entire Quebec population is virtually allergic to the idea.

For heaven’s sake, the PQ itself – the party dedicated to separation – had to promise NOT to hold a referendum on separation which used to be its very raison d’etre. They hardly even talk about it amongst themselves.

Quebec Solidaire which bills itself as sovereignist, is too busy promising to nationalize everything that isn’t nailed down to talk referendum.

Think about it. The PQ and Quebec Solidaire are separatist parties and they’re afraid to talk separatism.

Would you buy a vacuum cleaner from a salesman who doesn’t want to talk about the vacuum cleaner?

The number of times the subject of Quebec breaking away from Canada comes up at dinner tables and sidewalk cafes across the country would be – oh, I don’t know – approximately zero.

The people of Quebec are fed up with the Liberals and they are drawn to the CAQ which is viewed as the party most likely to set limits on immigration.

CAQ leader Francois Legault had enough time over the weekend to swan around the West Island. That is very telling. It shows he is so confident of the francophone vote he can afford to allot his time to the strongest of Liberal strongholds.

You will know it’s all over if you see Legault handing out apples and honey at the Cavendish Mall just before Rosh Hashanah in September.

There is more of a chance of a meteor hitting Mar-a-Lago than there is of having a referendum in Quebec.

Stop being chicken about the threat of separatism and vote for party of your choice.

#CAQ #LPQ #PQ #QS #qcpoli #polqc #lospolloshermanos

#bettercallSaul