Reaction
According to an opinion poll conducted by Angus Reid in November 1997, 62% of Canadians supported the Declaration's principles (39% "moderately," 23% "strongly"). 30% were opposed and 7% had no opinion. These numbers were similar to Quebec's, which found 23% "strongly" in favour and 36% "moderately" in favour (59% overall), and 30% opposed. Radio-Canada also found that in Quebec, 80% of the province's residents would classify the Declaration as "acceptable"; 18% were opposed.
Quebec Liberal Jean Charest voiced some support for the Calgary Declaration. However, a Parti Québécois minister Guy Chevrette said a referendum should take place before Quebec should adopt the Declaration, and sovereignty should be an option in such a referendum. In 2006, the eventually successful candidate for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada Stéphane Dion recalled the Declaration as being unsuccessful. "Few people remember" the Declaration, he writes, and in Quebec the Declaration was quickly dismissed by politicians because it "had no teeth."
Journalist Paul Wells highlighted items he thought were missing from the Declaration, saying "The Calgary declaration says nothing about health care, good schools, the return of prosperity, the slow rebirth of a thoughtful Canadian foreign policy, or the possibility of sharing good ideas and ennobling projects with fellow citizens who don't speak the same language but who share the same values."
Read more about this topic: Calgary Declaration
Famous quotes containing the word reaction:
“Christianity was only a very strong and singularly well-timed Salvation Army movement that happened to receive help from an unusual and highly dramatic incident. It was a Puritan reaction in an age when, no doubt, a Puritan reaction was much wanted; but like all sudden violent reactions, it soon wanted reacting against.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“Sole and self-commanded works,
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“In a land which is fully settled, most men must accept their local environment or try to change it by political means; only the exceptionally gifted or adventurous can leave to seek his fortune elsewhere. In America, on the other hand, to move on and make a fresh start somewhere else is still the normal reaction to dissatisfaction and failure.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)