Secession of Quebec from Canada?

[Kitty]

What are the arguments for and against the secession of Quebec from Canada?

Can someone give me some specific reasons besides language and cultural differences?

[..ωнιzzz..]

FOR...... A Canada without Quebec would be a much more cohesive and governable political entity. The incessant wrangling over Quebec's place in Confederation would be over, once and for all. The provinces could be expected to participate whenever a federal provincial meeting was called, without constantly worrying about whether Quebec would boycott the meeting for one reason or another. Federal proposals could be judged on their merits rather on the basis of whether they increased or decreased provincial, particularly Quebec, government powers. It is sad to say, but we would be in a much better position to make the difficult decisions required to deal with the economic and social problems facing Canada today. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AGAINST.......Quebec's separation will undoubtedly send a shock wave reverberating through financial markets. A run on the Canadian dollar and an upsurge of interest rates could lead to cutbacks in investment and consumer spending. Skillful damage control and good economic management will be required to get through the difficult transition period without a recession.
Canada without Quebec would not carry the same economic and political weight internationally. A new Canada would no longer have the seventh largest economy among the industrialized nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, but would fall to the eighth position, after Spain.

The significance of this downgrading is difficult to assess. Canada has taken considerable pride in its membership in the G7, the group of seven leading industrialized countries. Brian Mulroney, in particular, always took great pleasure in hobnobbing with the likes of George Bush and François Mitterrand. Yet Canada became a member of this elite club almost as an afterthought. When the G7 was formed in 1975, it wasn't even asked to join . Canada was eventually brought in a year later at the insistence of the United States, as a counterweight to the heavy European representation.

Canada would also become a slightly less important player in other important international organizations such as the GATT, the IMF, the World Bank and the OECD. But this is unlikely to make a great difference in our ability to defend our interests in the international arena.

Potentially as important as our lost stature in the international community would be the weakening of our bargaining position with the United States. Canada currently has more than 170 treaties governing its relations with the U.S.A. As Quebec would have to negotiate a similar complex web of treaties or to seek to adopt existing treaties, American negotiators would have their hands full just dealing with Quebeckers. This could make it more difficult to get them to focus on our evolving priorities.
So much more http://global-economics.ca/dth.chap15.htm