Sir – There are lessons for Scotland in recent Canadian history and this week’s election result in Quebec Province, won once again by the left-leaning Liberals.
The Parti Qubcois was founded in the 1960s following General de Gaulle’s call of: “Vive le Qubec libre.”
At the time, French-speaking Canadians were a lot poorer than their compatriots in the rest of the country.
Their language and culture were marginalised by the dominant Anglophone culture of North America.
Moreover, English-speakers held the best jobs, even in the province of Quebec.
By 1985, the Parti Qubcois had secured the first provincial referendum on independence.
Despite losing that referendum, the Quebec people elected their own separatist government and MPs to the Canadian Parliament.
In their second referendum, the Parti Qubcois missed a majority by just a few thousand votes.
Twenty years later, Quebec has become a charming mix of French and Canadian culture and most of the divisive politics have faded.
Two successive general elections have reduced French nationalists to a minority party: at this week’s Canadian election they are reduced to just 10 out of Quebec’s 78 members of parliament.
Politics are returning to near normal. And the Conservatives have been deposed.
The important lessons from Quebec are that devolution of powers must ensure that grievances are addressed, as they should be in Scotland. The Canadian bill of rights ensured that the French language has now achieved parity of esteem with English.
French speakers have gained income parity with other citizens.
Nowadays, the prospect of a third Canadian referendum has been indefinitely postponed. Perhaps two of them were enough.
Andrew Dundas. 34 Ross Avenue, Perth.
No appetite for referendum
Sir, – Far be it for me to agree with an SNP/ Yes supporter, but I think John Phimister (October 21) is probably right in his assessment that the SNP are trying to back peddle on having a referendum.
Some of us on the pro- union side of the argument have long believed that the last thing the SNP want to have to do is to actually negotiate a settlement and that their priority is to keep themselves in power.
This is relatively easy to do when a significant proportion of the population will vote for you regardless.
This is a sort of confidence trick, the skill of which is to persuade the supporter that they are in control and can determine events.
This is why the SNP keep saying, the people will decide. In practice, it means nothing.
The SNP will continue to talk about it, of course, probably every day, but the ultimate result of that will just be to alienate everyone, Yes and No voters alike.
Victor Clements. Mamie’s Cottage, Aberfeldy.
Do the job you are paid for
Sir, – I feel I must take issue with JG Phimister’s letter of October 21.
The railroading and xenophobic attitude towards non-Scottish people living in Scotland is a disgrace.
I have lived happily in Scotland for 43 years, am married to a Scot and my children were born in Scotland and, yes, I love Scotland.
Yet he suggests I can go back from whence I came if independence is achieved.
Do I leave my 79-year-old Scottish husband behind?
The Scottish MPs in London were elected to represent the people of Scotland, not the SNP’s independence cause and the sooner they and the Scottish Government realise this the sooner Scotland will benefit.
Stop turning everything into independence electioneering and get on with the job you were elected to do.
Hazel McKinnon. 28 Hillend Road, Arbroath.
Let’s have some positive action
Sir, – So Nicola Sturgeon vows to fight for a future for the steel industry.
It is a pity that she did not think to do that a few years ago when the tenders for the supply of steel for the new Forth road crossing were submitted for consideration.
The cost of those of the British steel industry including Scotland were deemed to be too expensive and the contract for the supply of the steel went to China.
Ms Sturgeon should have a good look at what is happening in the real world.
It is time she got on with proper government and tackled some of the problems with NHS Scotland, unemployment, Police Scotland, education and so on.
We are all getting fed up with the empty, unfulfilled promises and talk of another independence referendum.
Please just get on with the job you were elected to do and let us have some positive action for a change.
John M Page. 8 Panter Crescent, Montrose.
Industry has been failed
Sir, – I note everyone appears to be blaming everyone else regarding the collapse of steel making in Scotland.
Perhaps if the Scottish Government had awarded the steel contract for the new Forth crossing to a Scottish firm, rather than a foreign one, steelmaking in Scotland might have had a future.
If the Scottish Government does not have confidence in our indigenous industries and suppliers, what hope is there for our economy?
Councillor Mac Roberts. Carse of Gowrie Ward, Perth and Kinross Council.
Point scoring over job losses
Sir, – Alex Salmond, the former First Minister, nailed his usual colours to the mast in a broadcast while commenting on the news of the Redcar steel plant closure and Tata’s decision to axe jobs at plants in Scunthorpe and in Scotland.
Mr Salmond’s remarks and criticism, aimed as usual at the UK Government, were rich.
The Scottish electorate should remember it was he who presided over a government which awarded the construction of the Queensferry Crossing to a consortium who have sourced the entire steel requirement from overseas.
Here is the breakdown – Gdansk in Poland, 4,200 tonnes; Seville in Spain, 8,500 tonnes; Shanghai in China, 24,500 tonnes.
It should be noted that the Conservatives along with the Labour Party were among the strongest critics of this decision at the time.
In defence,we were told by the Scottish Government that, apparently, no Scottish firms bid for the steel contract. This may be true though we may never know the real truth.
One can understand steel being purchased prudently at globally competitive prices but what is galling is the hypocrisy and cheap political point-scoring which emanates from Mr Salmond.
Jonathan Brown. Waterloo Cottage, Meigle.
Islam will win in Europe
Sir, – Angus Brown (October 19) appealed to readers to remember my “anti-Islamic views”.
I accept that migrants are not fleeing to Europe solely to plot religious and social revolution for the simple reason they do not have to. We are already doing it for them and, mindful of the demographics, they will not have to revolt, only to vote. Colonel Gaddafi’s view that a takeover without a shot being fired will prevail.
Mr Brown refers to IS’s “distorted and vile form of Islamic belief”.
And yet, for all the rapes, abductions, killing of non-Muslims, and slavery Islamic State has committed, there has been no Islamic sin big enough to warrant a fatwa from any prominent Islamic jurist.
Nor indeed can be found any definitive Islamic text that defines these acts as sins or crimes, rather the opposite.
Refugees are escaping from war zones. They deserve our sympathy and help, but that sympathy and help should not jeopardise our own future which is now more than problematic given the demographics of imposed multiculturalism.
It looks as if Mr Brown will get his way and Islam will prevail. There’s no arguing with the numbers.
Andrew Lawson. 9 MacLaren Gardens, Dundee.
Close scrutiny is required
Sir, – I refer to Gordon Dilworth’s letter in which queries why I restricted commentary to Scandinavian comparisons with Scotland, to tax rates.
To explore the entire scope of economic and social comparisons would take up several newspaper pages.
Suffice to say, I think, that if you desire a high quality of life and social support, you have to pay for it. These are basic economics that SNP voters have not yet caught on to.
If anyone should be explaining the detail of how much better off Scotland would be outside of the UK, it should be the ministers of the SNP but they avoid detail and content themselves with huffing and puffing about a Conservative administration at Westminster that is undertaking
the distasteful task of balancing the UK’s books which were allowed to get out of balance by Labour before them.
I sincerely hope the media in Scotland will cease to be so enthralled with Ms Sturgeon and her party and, in the run-up to the Holyrood elections, take a close look at the record of the SNP in government.
It is time to take a close look at the record of the SNP in government and demand detailed answers to questions about income and expenditure, the business plan for Scotland and spending priorities of the Scottish Government.
Derek Farmer. Knightsward Farm, Anstruther.