Quebec as nation policy resolution scrapped

I’ve learned that the Conservative Party scrapped a motion before the convention that sought to affirm as Party policy the status of Quebec as a nation within a united Canada.

Political observers remember that last year, in a move of political brinkmanship against the Bloc Quebecois, the Prime Minister pre-empted a Bloc motion of Quebec’s nation status by including the distinction that Quebec as a nation exists within a united Canada.

Policy officials of the convention didn’t want to have a policy resolution go to the floor in plenary which would be voted up by Quebec delegates and voted down by Western Conservatives that some observe as resentful of la belle province for not delivering more seats for the party during the previous election. People close to the process concede that such a move could have been political dynamite and may have had the deleterous effect of putting shockwaves through the national media and within the province of Quebec.

As one policy official told me, the gain would be minimal and potential damage significant. The policy itself was redundent as the party itself moved and passed the similar motion in the House of Commons.

Vote results on policy resolutions

P-106 healthcare (No)
P-110 at-risk workers (Yes)
P-113 dangerous offender status (Yes)
P-114 faint-hope clause (Yes)
P-119 human trafficking (Yes)
P-202 affirm Charter (Yes)
P-203 human rights commission jurisdiction (Yes)
P-207 protecting pregnant women (Yes)
P-213 women (Yes)
P-218 diversity principles (Yes)
P-222 temporary workers (Yes)
P-223 program coordination and outcome audits (Yes)
P-301 new securities regulator (Yes)
P-303 capital gains (Yes)
P-305 income splitting (Yes)
P-306 tax code simplification (Yes)
P-308 striking workers (Yes)
P-321 agricultural trade agreements (Yes)
P-101 climate change in the North (Yes)
P-104 energy from garbage (Yes)
P-105 offshore oil and gas development (Yes)
P-111 complementary health (No)
P-122 veterans principles (Yes)
P-205 advancing arctic sovereignty (Yes)
P-208 student loans (No)
P-209 EI for summer students (No)
P-307 innovation (No)
P-311 invest in arctic research (Yes)
P-312 long-term energy framework (Yes)
P-316 rural family businesses (No)