Susan Delacourt Ottawa Bureau - The PQ representative, whose name has been blanked out in diplomatic-briefing emails obtained by the Star through Access to Information, “participated in the special briefing sessions for diplomats at the conference. He also networked actively on the margins with the SNP leadership, including an aside with (SNP leader Alex) Salmond,” the documents show.
Not long after Scotland got its own Parliament in 1999, with healthy representation from the SNP, the PQ saw an opportunity to forge common cause across the Atlantic.
Salmond was invited to attend a PQ convention in 2000 and though he could not attend, he sent most affectionate regrets, with a subtle wink in the direction of political solidarity.
“Be certain that if there is an occasion one day in the future, I will be happy to visit the representatives of our ‘brother party' in Quebec and share our views on our two nations,” Salmond wrote.
Salmond closed the letter with an evocative turn of phrase: “Vive l'Ecosse. Vive le Quebec.”
Quebec nationalists continue to maintain ties to Scotland, including visits between party officials.
“You know, they've been very wise,” says Daniel Turp, a former Bloc Québécois MP, now a Université de Montréal professor.
Turp says that the SNP has been canny, steadfastly refusing, for instance, to formally introduce any referendum bill before Parliament as long as the SNP only had a minority. In this way, it has avoided the setbacks the Quebec nationalists have suffered in their past two referendums. As a bonus, the SNP has had a chance to prove itself more than a one-note, independence-first party.
“So it's going to be interesting,” says Turp. “They're excited. I can tell you, they're very excited.”
For their part, SNP politicians are playing down the Scotland-Quebec connection.
Angus Robertson, SNP member of the British Parliament, and the man in charge of the referendum campaign, wrote in an email to the Star:
“Given that our offering is a strengthened ‘social union' while making Scotland responsible, I think the better parallel is Canada itself; developing from dominion status to a strong independent member of the Commonwealth and preserving its important links with family of nations, including Scotland and England.”