Merasty Takes A Pass On Quebec Nationhood Vote

Merasty Takes A Pass On Quebec Nationhood Vote

Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 15:20

Northern Saskatchewan’s Member of Parliament is keeping a low profile after ducking out of this week’s House of Commons vote on the nationhood of Quebec.

Gary Merasty was not present on Monday when Stephen Harper’s motion passed, which says the Quebecois should be recognized as a nation within a united Canada.

Merasty hasn’t spoken to the media about why he missed the vote, but he is indicating he will have something to say about the matter tomorrow.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Party’s Aboriginal wing has passed a resolution at the party’s convention in Montreal to recognize First Peoples as a nation.

Delegate Bob Goulais says the resolution calls for dramatic constitutional change — the enactment of a First Amendment to the Constitution and for entrenchment of First Nations governments as not only nations, but the “legitimate third order of government”.

The resolution passed as an emergency motion within the party’s Aboriginal Peoples’ Commission today, and will now head to the Liberals’ national executive and national policy committee for possible implementation.