On February 20 the Canadian Supreme Court concluded hearings on a "reference" from the federal government asking the court to declare any "unilateral" declaration of Quebec's independence "illegal." But Ottawa came out the loser. With imperial arrogance the Canadian government sought to intimidate the Quebecois. Instead, the legislative gymnastics became an impetus for the largest nationalist rally since 1995.

Implicit in the court challenge is the threat by Ottawa to use force to maintain "law and order" against Quebec's rebelliousness. The Supreme Court initiative is a direct challenge to the right of the 6 million Quebecois - the vast majority of Quebec's population of 7 million - to decide their own affairs as an oppressed nation without interference from Ottawa. The Quebecois have waged a decades-long struggle to overcome discrimination - based on their language, which is French - on the job, in education, and in the availability of social services.

In face of the Quebecois' determination to turn their backs on the Maple Leaf flag, Canada's capitalist rulers are more divided than ever at the very moment that their patriotic national unity campaign aims to drum up support for Canada's participation in any imperialist war on Iraq. Ottawa's attempts to use more aggressive tactics against sovereignty have not created greater acceptance of federal supremacy in Quebec. Furthermore, many federal forces outside Quebec fear the maneuver will boomerang as it did in the 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum, when Ottawa's threats and blackmail resulted in federal political defeat.

Rather than bemoaning Ottawa's plight, the Canadian Labor Congress should be championing Quebec's march toward independence. The struggle of the Quebecois against national oppression strengthens the struggle of all working people against imperialist war, the austerity drive of the employing class and their governments, and the fight to defend democratic rights.

Fighting to forge this working-class unity leads to the struggle to replace capitalist political power in Ottawa with a government of workers and farmers. It is only under such a government that Quebecois, Native people, and others who suffer national oppression in Canada's prison house of nations will be truly free to exercise their right to determine their own future.  
 
 
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