8/3/2019 Book Review - Misconceiving Canada

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/book-review-misconceiving-canada 1/4

http://www.jstor.org

Review: [untitled]

Author(s): Jane Jenson

Reviewed work(s): Misconceiving Canada: The Struggle for National Unity by Kenneth

McRoberts

Source: Canadian Journal of Political Science / Revue canadienne de science politique, Vol. 31,

No. 2, (Jun., 1998), pp. 375-377

Published by: Canadian Political Science Association and the Société québécoise de science

politique

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3232474

Accessed: 26/04/2008 01:03

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless

you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you

may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cpsa.

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed

page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1995 to build trusted digital archives for scholarship. We enable the

scholarly community to preserve their work and the materials they rely upon, and to build a common research platform that

promotes the discovery and use of these resources. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

8/3/2019 Book Review - Misconceiving Canada

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/book-review-misconceiving-canada 2/4

Recensions /Reviews

Misconceiving Canada: The Struggle for National UnityKennethMcRobertsToronto:OxfordUniversityPress, 1997,pp. xvii, 395

This is a book that has needed to be writtenfor a numberof years. It is also abook which only Ken McRoberts, with his deep knowledge and intimateappreciationof Quebecand Canadianpolitics could have written.In his analy-sis, McRoberts brings to bear all the intellectual capital accumulated in acareer as student and professor, spanningthe years upon which he concen-trates,1960 to 1995. Since the first edition in 1977 of Quebec:Social Changeand Political Crisis, McRobertshas been the pre-eminent nterpreterwritingin English about modem Quebec. Therefore,when he analyzes the national

unity file-in unfortunate ontrast to so many so-called experts who do notbother o read the literaturen French-he knows of what he writes.

The argumentof the book, presented n four steps, is quite simple. This

fact makes it no less important o understandandcertainlyno less true.First,Quebec, as representedby the overwhelming majorityof its intellectual andpolitical francophoneelites, has a dualist vision of Canada.In all versions ofthis vision (andthere areseveral,all ably described n this book), Canada s acompactbetween two nations,and therefore s composed of two collectivities.The second partof the argument s that elites outside of Quebec have some-times shared this vision. This was the case before the Second World War,when otherprovincial governmentsalso conceived of Canada as a compact,although they defined the compact differently. It was also the case in the1960s, when the governmentsof LesterPearson,and even JohnDiefenbaker,began to put into place institutionalmechanisms organized around dualistprinciples.Most importantly or McRoberts,the mid-1960s were the yearsofthe Royal Commission on Bilingualismand Biculturalism.This commission,whose thinking has clearly influenced McRoberts' own (as has the Pepin-RobartsTask Force on CanadianUnity of the late 1970s), was both the prod-uct and thepromoterof adualistconceptionof history.

The thirdstep is that dualism was abruptlypushedaside andreplaced byPierreTrudeau's iberal model. In Trudeau,accordingto McRoberts, he Lib-eralpartyfound neitherthe firstnorthe last French-speakingQuebeckerwhocould not speakfor Quebecbecausehis own identityandpolitical stance wasanimatedby a rejectionof the very premiseof dualism.Trudeauhimself was

profoundly ambivalent about his own identity and positively hostile to themodernizingproject promoted by all Quebec parties after 1960. While thedesign of modernQuebecwas profoundly iberal(in contrast o the deep con-servativism of earlier years) all its versions were also laced through withnationalism, which Trudeau found repellent. Therefore, as a proponent ofCatholicpersonalistethics, Trudeaudecided to act, to go to Ottawa and con-struct an alternativeproject, one which would transformQuebeckers intoCanadiansand wean them from the nationalismwhich found expression indemands for special status,new institutionsof federalismand recognitionoftheir collective identity.Trudeau'svision, profoundly iberalandindividualist,defined bilingualism as a personaltrait.The right to speak Frenchrequired

protection,but the society which made Frencha practicaloption hardlymer-ited the same attention.IndeedTrudeau, o the eternalenmity of many Que-beckers,found Quebec society unacceptablyundemocratic,closed and inca-pableof speakingFrenchproperly.

The fourth step in McRoberts'argument s that because Trudeaucamefrom Quebec and was mistakenlyperceived by Canadians n the rest of thecountry as speaking in the name of Quebec, his agenda was accepted as a

375

8/3/2019 Book Review - Misconceiving Canada

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/book-review-misconceiving-canada 3/4

Recensions /Reviews

"solution" to the nationalunity problem.Moreover,as he implementedhisvariousreforms,from the OfficialLanguagesAct to the CanadianCharterofRights and Freedoms'protectionfor linguisticminorities,Trudeauwas insti-tutionalizinga vision of Canada n which the historic dualistclaims of Quebeccould no longerresonate.

None of this is unfamiliar o careful observers of the last 30 years (al-thoughthe hard-nosedassessment of trudeauism s rareamongnon-Quebeck-ers). Nevertheless,the book is very importantprecisely because it remindsusof all this history.Most centrally-and this is indeed the majorpoint McRo-berts wantsto make,I believe-it remindsus thatthingswere,andmighthavecontinued to be different.We might have avoided the currentdebate of thedeaf, pittingQuebeckerswith a societal project againstotherCanadianswhoadhere to the Trudeauliberal vision of personal bilingualism, and the dis-course of equality, of persons and now provinces. The book refreshes thememoriesof those of us who have sometimes taken time out to focus on mat-ters other than the Quebec-Canadadilemma, and have thereforeforgottensome of the sad story.It instructs he millionsof young peoplebothin Quebecandoutside,whose own memorydoes not includethe 1960s and its alternativediscourse, that this history did indeed exist. This is the book's greateststrength,and for this alone it is worthreading,and even translating.

Because this is an ambitious book, it has some flaws. Despite sharingMcRoberts'interpretation f the problem,I was disappointedby several ele-ments of the book. The majordifficulty is that we do not knowwhy the mis-conception took hold. The capacity to explain this is crucial,and not simplyfor reasons of "science." If there is to be any chance-as McRoberts' last

chaptersets as its task-of identifyinga way out of the impasse,thenexplana-tion, and particularlyproper dentificationof the centralprocesses hinderingrecognitionof dualism,becomes crucial.

Misconceiving Canada offers a certainchoice of explanations.The first,and least convincing factor, is the individual factor. Here Trudeauand hisphilosophy obviously loom large,as does a second individualfactorwhich isless discussed, the untimelydeath of Andre Laurendeaubefore the Bi andBiCommission's work was finished. Any focus on the individual is ultimatelyunsatisfactory,because it is simply too hardto believe that a single personcould move the CanadiangovernmentandultimatelyCanadian ociety single-handedly.Too often missing in this book is the complicated storyof allies, of

mobilizationof supportwithinthe state and the Liberalpartywhich made Tru-deau's ideas resonate and his projectfeasible. Trudeau ranslated omeone'svision of Canada nto action,he spokefor someone,even if it was notQuebec.The book does detail the opposition to Trudeau's eadershipthat came frommany Quebec Liberals in 1968 (includingtheirpreferencefor several of theanglophoneleadershipcandidates).It would have been worthwhile o providemoredetail about the ways thatTrudeau'sconceptionof Canadawas actuallyvery popularamong Toronto-basedntellectuals(as perusalof the notes indi-cates).And, amongwhom else?

The way was prepared or Trudeau'sprojectin earlierdecades. Intellec-tuals both inside and outside the Ottawagovernmentwere ready and suffi-

ciently well-placedto make theprojectwork.There were also some who wereopposed. Such politics inside the statewere important or the outcomes. Thebook offers some tantalizingbits of bureaucratic olitics, but far too few. Inthe 1990s, the Departmentof Finance is out of the closet as the engine for re-designing intergovernmental elations and "decentralization."Previously itwas more discreet.However,in the 1960s it did weigh in against"optingout"and in the 1970s pushedfor EstablishedProgram undingandreducedfederal

376

8/3/2019 Book Review - Misconceiving Canada

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/book-review-misconceiving-canada 4/4

Recensions /Reviewsecensions /Reviews

involvement n cost-sharing.In the firstcase, Finance'soppositionthreatenedPearson'sstrategyfor recognizingdualism,while the second example under-cut the effortto increase the visibilityof the federalgovernment n the eyes ofall Canadians,a visibility which was supposedto foster the single identityofwhichTrudeaudreamed.

I am not proposingan alternative eadingwhich wouldput the accent onthe Departmentof Finance alone. I am simply sayingthatthe storyof dualismsometimesis too cut off from thecomplexityof politics, both bureaucratic ndelectoral. The book is especially thin on the cross-policy links, and particu-larlythose which now seem to subordinateall otherissues, includingnationalunity, to neoliberalism.Moreover,if I am-even partially-correct that theagendahas been drivenby economic actors,and most recentlythose seekingto open to marketforces and limit the role of the state, then Trudeau'sgreatproject,the Charterand other institutionsrecognizing "alternative dentities"fade into the

backgroundas variables

accountingfor the

incapacityof Cana-

dianpolitics to acceptdualism(251). Therearereasons otherthanoppositionto culturaldualismfor decentralizing orces to generatea liberal discourseofequality,now encompassingthe "equalityof provinces."

McRobertsis, of course, aware that the individualstory is insufficient.Therefore,he suddenlyproffersanotherexplanation,this time a sociologicalone. "In the end the nationalunitystrategywas defeatedby the immutabilityof Canada's linguistic structure" 247); almost nine of every ten Canadiansspeaking French at home live in Quebec. Such a statementis disquieting,because it comes across as a sociologically determinist xplanation n the con-clusion of a book which is premisedon the importanceof ideas andtheir stra-

tegic deploymentin politics. If languagedetermines dentity,there is no needto readthis book. McRobertsarguesthroughout,and I believe correctly, thatthe weakness in Trudeau'snationalunity strategy-and this remains a prob-lem as I write on the day the SupremeCourt is recruited o Plan B-was itsinabilityto understandand accept the duality of many Quebeckers' identity.Trudeauwanted them to be simplyCanadian,as McRobertsdemonstrates,andthey (andthe majorityof their own elites) wantedthem to be QuebeckersandCanadians.Thus, sociology was not the problem; n effect, the real "miscon-ceptions" stemmedfromthe fact thatdefinitionsof Canadadiffered.

The sad fact of the matter s, however,thatdespitethe existence of level-headed proposals such as provided in Misconceiving Canada, since 1995

positions in Quebec and Canada have only hardened.Being a "true" Cana-dian now involves a "test";acceptingstatusquo federalism s the measure ofloyalty to the country.Alternativevisions arebeing labelled illegal and there-fore treasonous.The major esson of thisbook, and that whichmakes it timelyandessentialto read,is the dangerof false prophets.Is this still a message wemust heed?

JANE JENSON Universitede Montreal

Femmes et representation politique au Quebec et au Canada

ManonTremblayet CarolineAndrew,sous la directiondeMontreal:Editions duRemue-Mdnage,1997, 276 p.

Les tablettesdes bibliothequeset des librairiesne sont certespas encombreesd'ouvragesen franqais urles femmes et la politiqueau Canada.Les livres quianalysentla participationdes femmes a la politique quebecoise se comptentsurles dix doigts et ceux qui traitentde la participationdes femmes a la poli-tique canadiennepeuventetre repertories ur les doigts d'une seule main. La

involvement n cost-sharing.In the firstcase, Finance'soppositionthreatenedPearson'sstrategyfor recognizingdualism,while the second example under-cut the effortto increase the visibilityof the federalgovernment n the eyes ofall Canadians,a visibility which was supposedto foster the single identityofwhichTrudeaudreamed.

I am not proposingan alternative eadingwhich wouldput the accent onthe Departmentof Finance alone. I am simply sayingthatthe storyof dualismsometimesis too cut off from thecomplexityof politics, both bureaucratic ndelectoral. The book is especially thin on the cross-policy links, and particu-larlythose which now seem to subordinateall otherissues, includingnationalunity, to neoliberalism.Moreover,if I am-even partially-correct that theagendahas been drivenby economic actors,and most recentlythose seekingto open to marketforces and limit the role of the state, then Trudeau'sgreatproject,the Charterand other institutionsrecognizing "alternative dentities"fade into the

backgroundas variables

accountingfor the

incapacityof Cana-

dianpolitics to acceptdualism(251). Therearereasons otherthanoppositionto culturaldualismfor decentralizing orces to generatea liberal discourseofequality,now encompassingthe "equalityof provinces."

McRobertsis, of course, aware that the individualstory is insufficient.Therefore,he suddenlyproffersanotherexplanation,this time a sociologicalone. "In the end the nationalunitystrategywas defeatedby the immutabilityof Canada's linguistic structure" 247); almost nine of every ten Canadiansspeaking French at home live in Quebec. Such a statementis disquieting,because it comes across as a sociologically determinist xplanation n the con-clusion of a book which is premisedon the importanceof ideas andtheir stra-

tegic deploymentin politics. If languagedetermines dentity,there is no needto readthis book. McRobertsarguesthroughout,and I believe correctly, thatthe weakness in Trudeau'snationalunity strategy-and this remains a prob-lem as I write on the day the SupremeCourt is recruited o Plan B-was itsinabilityto understandand accept the duality of many Quebeckers' identity.Trudeauwanted them to be simplyCanadian,as McRobertsdemonstrates,andthey (andthe majorityof their own elites) wantedthem to be QuebeckersandCanadians.Thus, sociology was not the problem; n effect, the real "miscon-ceptions" stemmedfromthe fact thatdefinitionsof Canadadiffered.

The sad fact of the matter s, however,thatdespitethe existence of level-headed proposals such as provided in Misconceiving Canada, since 1995

positions in Quebec and Canada have only hardened.Being a "true" Cana-dian now involves a "test";acceptingstatusquo federalism s the measure ofloyalty to the country.Alternativevisions arebeing labelled illegal and there-fore treasonous.The major esson of thisbook, and that whichmakes it timelyandessentialto read,is the dangerof false prophets.Is this still a message wemust heed?

JANE JENSON Universitede Montreal

Femmes et representation politique au Quebec et au Canada

ManonTremblayet CarolineAndrew,sous la directiondeMontreal:Editions duRemue-Mdnage,1997, 276 p.

Les tablettesdes bibliothequeset des librairiesne sont certespas encombreesd'ouvragesen franqais urles femmes et la politiqueau Canada.Les livres quianalysentla participationdes femmes a la politique quebecoise se comptentsurles dix doigts et ceux qui traitentde la participationdes femmes a la poli-tique canadiennepeuventetre repertories ur les doigts d'une seule main. La

37777