Should I stay or should I go?

With typical Canadian understatement, Parliament reconvened earlier this week, almost two months after Prime Minister Harper decided to start the Christmas holiday early. The budget was re-presented and this time, with conditions, the Liberal Party decided to accept it, thus preserving Stephen Harper's tenuous grip on power.

However, the NDP and Bloc Quebecois both rejected the terms of the new budget; the Bloc Quebecois complained that not enough resources would be directed Quebec's way, and during a subsequent interview Gilles Duceppe, leader of the Bloc, made a very revealing comment:

"The interests of Canada are not those of Quebec."

Such an incredible statement puts a picture of a petulant teenager in my head who, just before slamming the door and leaving the house, shouts out something to his parents like "You just don't understand me, why can't you give me my own space? I hate you...I don't want to see you again, ever!" as he skulks away, underwear still defiantly visible above the top of his jeans.

Now, in 99% of such scenarios, said teenager eventually skulks back, tail between the legs, after he realises that life in the real world is actually very hard without the support of those darned parents. It would seem to me that Mr Duceppe really wants to take Quebec out that door before slamming it firmly behind him, and as I have said before, if that's what Quebec wants, then let it go. Whether the petulant teenager eventually skulks back to his Canadian parents in this case only time would tell, but if he did I can only hope, for his sake, that the parents haven't changed the locks.