A group of students is standing up for Quebec sovereignty in Ottawa only two kilometers from Parliament Hill, where the next federal government will sit.
Two years ago, the University of Ottawa Bloquistes emerged as the first youth cell of the Bloc Quebecois outside “la belle province.”
“We really have as much a place as any other political group at the University of Ottawa,” said Simon La Terreur, president of the Bloquistes, in French.
The size of the University of Ottawa Bloquistes has increased consistently over the last two years. The group now has between 50 and 75 members.
“Our mission is primarily one of information” said La Terreur, “to demystify Quebec sovereignty to other Canadians and educate them about the Bloc’s political platform.”
The Bloc Quebecois has shown a growing opposition to the Conservative government over the last few years. “The federal government should not impose itself into provincial matters,” La Terreur said. “The Bloc is now the only alternative to protect the rights and wishes of the people of Quebec from the Conservatives’ retrograde policies.”
The failure of the 2011 federal budget was due in part to the Bloc’s opposition to many of the Conservative initiatives.
“Instead of spending a fortune on war planes, we would like to see a greater part of the federal budget go into promoting culture,” La Terreur said.
“The objective of the Bloc Quebecois is primarily to protect the interests of the people of Quebec and ensure that their voice is heard on the national stage,” he said. “We are a distinct nation, very different from all the other provinces in Canada, and that’s something that has to be recognized by Canadian politicians.”
As stated on their Facebook page, the University of Ottawa Bloquistes are committed to promoting the values of the province of Quebec as a sovereign state.
“Yes, we are sovereignists, we’ve never denied it,” La Terreur said, “but we recognize that at the moment Quebec is a part of Canada. Things are the way they are, but when the time comes for the people of Quebec to decide what they really want, the Bloc will be there to support them.”
The University of Ottawa Bloquistes are involved in the Bloc campaigns in the Gatineau and Hull-Aylmer ridings, as well as Pontiac, where one of their own members, Maude Tremblay, is running as Bloc candidate.
–with files from Jeanne Armstrong