Nutik strikes again

As founder and driving force behind the brand new provincial political party Affiliation Quebec, Mr. Nutik has been taking the Charest Liberals to task for virtually ignoring the Anglo population, and he says he intends to do something about it at the political level.

The Equality Party, Alliance Quebec — we've seen it all before. Anglo rights movements in this province have always tended to be a pet novelty for those who don't play the game and a bit of an embarrassment for those who do. And as the local population continues to evolve toward a much greater plurality, with so-called 'allophones' rapidly becoming the demographic majority, the entire definition of 'minority' is called into serious question. Now, as our society embraces a much more global attitude, the very need for minority-rights advocacy is on the decline.

But there are still many problems — and that's where Mr. Nutik comes in.

With the Parti Québécois virtually out of the picture and a Westmounter well into his second term as premier, we are currently enjoying a prolonged lull in the ongoing social tensions that have marred life in this province for longer than most people care to remember. But while some may accuse Mr. Nutik of poking the sleeping giant of Quebec nationalism, others will no doubt applaud him for taking a brave stand against the gradual chipping away of Anglo rights in Quebec. But of course these are the same people who would be hard put to say exactly which rights have been abolished — the Anglo equivalent to the separatists whose de Gaulle-inspired rhetoric is based around the word freedom. Freedom from what, exactly?

It's easy to get worked up when it comes to Quebec politics, so the fire in Mr. Nutik's speeches should come as no surprise to anyone who has followed the issue for any amount of time. Whether or not you agree with him, you must admit that the man definitely has chutzpah — and I mean chutzpah with that good old-fashioned Yiddish rattling-up-from-the-depths-of-the-throat pronunciation.