--- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], "shempmcgurk" <shempmcgurk@> > wrote: > > > > Coming from Quebec, I am a somewhat "expert" on secession, having > > studied it from a constitutional as well as political viewpoint. > > > > One of the first articles mentioned various states such as Oregon > > and Washington joining Canada. Well, it has been suggested before > > that those two states join B.C. and Alberta (and possibly others) > > into a state called "Cascadia". > > > > Curiously, there is a school of thought -- led by none other than > > Ben Stein of "Win Ben Stein's money" fame -- that the attempt at > > secession by the South in the 1860s was entirely legit. I believe > > that the jist of it is that the residual power in the constitution -- > > that's the power that says that anything not explicitly given to > > the federal government goes to the states -- would go to the states > > because there is no mention of who has power over secession in the > > constitution. So... > > I don't know the specifics of this, Shemp, but when > I lived in Canada for three years, it was always > explained to me there that the reason that the > Quebecois' threat to secede was taken seriously > was that the right to do so was actually guaranteed > in the Canadian constitution, *as opposed to* the > US constitution. I don't know that this is true, > but it's how it was explained to me in Toronto, > in a couple of cases by attorneys. >
I'd love to know where in the Canadian Constitution that would be. Canada -- created in 1867 -- came about in large part as a result of the U.S. Civil War where the question of secession was on everyone's mind. No, there is no explicit mention of the "right" to secession in either the Canadian or U.S. constitutions but the mention of the residual power is clear. Other nations DO mention secession, either explicitly or implicitly. For example, I believe that France clearly states in its constitution that it is "indivisible". The former Soviet Union, I believe, explicitly made provision for secession (of course, under its totalitarian watch, it was impossible until the Soviet Union itself dissolved). To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
