The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), the Idea of Independence, and the Sovereigntist Movement, 1960-1980
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3983636 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ralph Peter Güntzel (McGill University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1993 |
| Volume | 31 |
| Pages | 145 |
| Publication date | 1993-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Labour / Le Travail (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0700-3862 • E-ISSN: 1911-4842 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/25143672 |
| OpenAlex | W1650336721 |
| Language | FR |
| Citations received | 2 |
IN EARLY JUNE 1979, the CSN, Quebec's second-largest labour union central, held a special convention on the national question.The one thousand delegates were to discuss a variety of issues related to Quebec's constitutional status and the socioeconomic condition of francophones in Québec.On the third day of the convention, several high-ranking CSN officers led by the central's vice-president, André L'-.Heureux, proposed a resolution in support of independence for Québec.A long and intense debate ensued.In the end, only one quarter of the delegates rallied behind the pro-independence proposal. 1This vote did not mean, however, that the CSN endorsed federalism.Quite the opposite: in early April 1980, the CSN recommended to its members to vote yes in the referendum in order to permit the Parti québécois government to negotiate sovereignty-association.On the eve of the Québec referendum, the CSN position on the issue of separation was ambiguous.To explain this ambiguity one has to go back in CSN history to the time of the Quiet Revolution.The evolution of the CSN position on the independence question during the 1960s and 1970s can be divided into three phases.From 1960 to 1966, the CSN opted for federalism and provincial autonomy and rejected separation.Prom 1966 to 1972, most CSN leaders and many rank-and-file members came to favour independence.As a result, the CSN gradually moved away from its federalist stand and became increasingly sympathetic toward independence.In 1972, though, this process came to a halt.For the remainder of the decade the union central avoided any clear-cut stand.This paper seeks to cast light on the rise of separatism within 'CSN, Procès-verbal, congrès confédéral 1979, 131-2; Louis-Gilles Francoeur, "Indépendance: La CSN ne s'avance pas."Le Devoir, 4 juin 1979,3; Laval LeBorgne, "Une résolution prônant l'indépendance est défaite: La CSN refuse tout appui au PQ," La Presse, 4juinl979,Al2
Humanities · Independence (probability theory · Political science · Canadian Identity and History · Mathematics · Philosophy · Social Sciences and Governance
| Citations per year | 0.06 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1994 - 2010 (17) |
| Highly cited | No |