In November 1837, rebellion stirred in the British colonies of Upper and Lower Canada (modern-day Ontario and Quebec). In Lower Canada, the rebel group the Patriotes had just won the Battle of Saint-Denis against British forces and, with the news of rebel success, William Lyon Mackenzie called on rural Upper Canadians to follow suit. He distributed a handbill with the title
Independence!, which began with the following passage:
There have been Nineteen Strikes for Independence from European Tyranny on the Continent of America.
They were all successful!
BRAVE CANADIANS! Do you love freedom? I know you do. Do you hate oppression? Who dare deny it? Do you wish perpetual peace, and a government founded upon the eternal heaven-born principle of the Lord Jesus Christ? Then buckle on your armour, and put down the villains who oppress and enslave your country put them down in the name of that God who goes forth with the armies of his people.
Those of us who believed in a bicultural Canada and took the trouble to achieve that status personally do not regret it, but nor do we forgive the premeditated…
Experts divided on whether Quebec can change Constitution to claim nationhood nationalpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nationalpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that Quebec can unilaterally rewrite certain sections of the Constitution to insert new provisions establishing the province as a “nation” and enshrining French as its “only” official language.
“Our initial analysis, in terms of the Justice Department, has highlighted that it is perfectly legitimate for a province to modify the section of the Constitution that applies specifically to them,” Trudeau told a press briefing Tuesday morning. In his response in French, he said specifically that “Quebec has the right to modify a part of the Constitution.”
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