Quebec Votes “Non” To Separation
Rachel Liu
Ms. Mansey
CHC2D7a
17 December 2018
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Identification and Evaluation of Sources
The question researched is “Why has Quebec voted “non” to separation?”. “How Does
One Be French in North America?”, written by Susan Mann in 1995 helps answer this. This
article focuses on the referendum on separation that is about to occur. The article, “The
Staggering Price Of Quebec Independence”, by Christopher Ragan further assists in answering
the question. He is renowned for his research on monetary policy, the main area of focus in the
article.
The article written by Susan Mann in 1995 contains many values. Firstly, the article was
written at the time of the referendum and thus provides an accurate view of the situation from a
Canadian experiencing the event. It also allows for a highly educated and researched perspective
to be expressed. Mann was the president of York University and a historian at the time of
publication meaning that she was well informed on the topic she discussed. Furthermore, it
provides a new view on the topic as it mentions the importance of Quebec’s history in the article,
unlike other articles which focus on the now. This perspective is also informational to those from
other areas and time periods as it brings something new. Another value would be the large
number of facts provided in the article in order to support her points. This is beneficial as it is
incredibly educational for the reader. Finally, the article gives a clear overview of the entire
situation to its audience which is particularly beneficial to those who did not witness the event
itself.
In this article, there are also many limitations. Firstly, there is no hindsight provided since
the article was written during the event. This means that emotions were heightened and come
into play as the event was related to her. Additionally, there may be bias in the article due to the
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position she held at York University as they may be more politically aligned with one party than
another as many education sites often are. Similarly, there is only one viewpoint provided in the
entire article which does not represent all Canadian perspectives. Finally, there may not a lot of
in-depth analysis of the situation as the article is rather short and not a lot of detail is provided in
it.
There are many values in “The Staggering Price Of Quebec Independence”. Firstly,
Ragan has time to look back at the situation due to the late publication date. He learnt what
Quebecers knew and analysed the situation after gathering all the facts. Furthermore, Ragan is
well researched and knowledgeable on this topic due to his status as an economist at McGill
University. This means that the information he provides is accurate and well researched. This
statistical information provided ensures that his readers understand the true economic costs of a
split. Furthermore, it offers a perspective from one of those most affected as Ragan was a
resident...
