Canadian lesson

As I read about your independence debate, my memory goes back to a night in 1976, just a few years after we had bought our first house in Montreal, when the Quebec Separatist Party won the provincial election.

For several years after we could not sell our house “at any price”, many friends transferred or were transferred to Toronto and other parts of Canada and the economy of Quebec collapsed. Construction and business development in Montreal and elsewhere in the province died.

Building sites which had been prepared for new development remained as parking lots, tax revenues wilted and the economy was stagnant.

Other parts of Canada thrived but Quebec became a backwater. Montreal, which used to be the wealthiest and most vibrant city in Canada, came to a standstill and is only now recovering but will never regain its dominant position.

Michael Hensby

Montreal

Canada