Recognizing Kosovo could backfire for Ottawa, expert says
Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is a clear example of how powerless the federal government would be to stop Quebec from doing the same, according to influential Quebec City lawyer André Joli-Coeur.
(Rheal Seguin, Globe and Mail) Thursday, February 21, 2008
Mr. Joli-Coeur, who 10 years ago made the same argument before the Supreme Court of Canada in the Quebec secession reference, said that should Ottawa recognize the declaration of independence of Kosovo, it will have difficulty refusing Quebec the same status should the province eventually declare its independence.
"The case of Kosovo clearly demonstrates that the essential factors in the creation of a state are the will of the population of the territory concerned and the attitude of the international community," Mr. Joli-Coeur stated in a letter to The Globe and Mail. "The predecessor state does not necessarily play a decisive role in such matters."
Recognizing Kosovo independence could one day backfire against Ottawa, he argued.
"Canada will be reminded of its probable support for the declaration of independence of Kosovo when the matter of Quebec's sovereignty arises in the future," he stated.
Mr. Joli-Coeur was appointed "friend of the court" in 1998 by the Supreme Court to argue Quebec's case in the secession reference referred by Ottawa in the hope of having an eventual unilateral declaration of independence by Quebec declared illegal.
The case involving Kosovo, according to Mr. Joli-Coeur, has shown that despite Serbia's rejection of the breakaway state's declaration of independence, the recognition of the new state by major Western countries rendered that opposition futile. He argued that Ottawa should be reminded of this fact should it try to stop Quebec secession by invoking the Clarity Act, a law that gives the federal government powers to define a "clear question" in a referendum and the "clear majority" needed to separate.
In 1998, the Supreme Court ruled that the Quebec government would be within its rights to declare secession. "The rights of the other provinces and the federal government cannot deny the right of the government of Quebec to pursue secession, should a clear majority of the people of Quebec choose that goal, so long as in doing so, Quebec respects the rights of others," the court stated in its advisory opinion on Quebec's right to secede unilaterally.
Prior to the 1995 referendum on sovereignty, then-premier Jacques Parizeau had secured a commitment from France as well as from member states of the Francophonie to support an eventual unilateral declaration of independence in the event of a referendum victory.
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