The issue of Canadian unity and identity is an extremely important one, but unity and identity cannot exist simply as abstractions. 

1. As a country, Canada has several nations within its borders: the Aboriginal peoples, as well as the well-developed nation of Quebec. Also the rest of Canada has great potential of becoming a nation of Canada. To do so requires an effort by the working class outside of Quebec. The nation of Canada will develop with the participation of all the people under the leadership of the working class. Only the sovereign nations of the Aboriginal peoples, and of Quebec and Canada can build a United Canada as a country, on an equal basis and according to their own free will. 

2. The Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist) is already engaged in democratic renewal, in working for a modern constitution on the basis of universal and direct franchise and the right to self-determination of all the nations within Canada, including secession if they wish. This is the way to build a strong Canada. It is high time that people outside of Quebec engaged themselves in nation-building instead of remaining stuck with the anachronism of the British North America Act. They should take the lead in the modernization of their nation and seek unity with Quebec and the Aboriginal peoples on a new basis. This is the way the fraternal peoples of the country of Canada who come from different national backgrounds will be able to seek and strengthen their unity in the form of a free and equal union of the Aboriginal peoples, the nation of Quebec and the developing nation of Canada. Such a Canada will also be able to safeguard its independence, for all the people will strongly support its continued existence and independence from the big powers. 

3. Measures such as the parliamentary motion on recognizing Quebec as a distinct society and the bill on the regional veto merely strengthen the status quo so as to ensure that Quebec's right to self-determination never gets a constitutional guarantee. It should be recognized that this will only frustrate the people of Quebec who want to affirm the sovereignty of their nation, just as it will frustrate and exasperate the people of the rest of Canada who will be equally side-tracked from building their own nation. 

4. The identity of any people, Canadian or otherwise, is not merely a legal category. It is something which emerges historically according to the economic, social and other conditions of a people who live in a definite territory, in a relationship of mutual dependence in the modern sense of the word. An identity exists for everyone to see and to recognize, even though it may not have been legally sanctioned as is the case with the nation of Quebec and the Aboriginal nations. 

5. Canada can be identified as a geographical territory with a single state which confers a citizenship. On a map, territorially a country called Canada can be clearly identified. When Canada's citizenship is considered from the point of view of a modern body politic, it can be seen that it does not recognize the rights of Canadians by dint of their being human but is based on archaic formulations which are insulting and humiliating. This is not a citizenship which could impart sameness to all in the political sense of providing all with the possibility of enjoying the same rights and duties. The Citizenship Act merely provides a mechanism through which non-Canadians can become naturalized Canadians. It is profoundly discriminatory since it forces immigrants to meet criteria for citizenship which do not apply to born Canadians. The proposal to include adherence to so-called "Canadian values" in a new citizenship act will further entrench such inequalities by demanding that in order to become a citizen an immigrant must adhere to the so-called Canadian values. According to all the information available, millions of dollars have been spent in the name of multiculturalism, also referred to as a "Canadian value," in order to ensure that the "ethnics" and "visible minorities" are integrated. What this means is that its primary mission is to make sure these people fit in with the values of the major political parties. In other words, multiculturalism and Canadian identity and the Citizenship Act are all being used as pretexts to deprive the immigrants and naturalized Canadians of their civil rights and to create a neurosis in their midst that if they do not comply with the demands as set forth, they can be denied citizenship or have it taken away. The current attempt to include a preamble to the Citizenship Act which lists a series of so-called Canadian values, including multiculturalism, should not be allowed to pass. It should be abandoned in favour of a policy which is not based on race, privilege and elite accommodation. The real Canadian identity is sure to reveal itself as together all members of society participate in building a truly modern nation. 

6. Identifying with something which constitutes an infringement on one's own right to conscience is the essence of the integration inherent in the multicultural policy as well. It is also based on acceptance of privilege in lieu of rights and, by virtue of this, on accepting a higher authority which has privileges over the citizenry. If a person misbehaves, these privileges can be taken away. Put another way, if a person does not behave in a certain way, these privileges are not given. The Multiculturalism Act is a legal mechanism for awarding privileges on the basis of "unity in diversity". 

7. Citizens and residents of Canada who hail from all corners of the globe and from myriads of circumstances will establish a very definite identity for themselves once they affirm their rights by dint of being human. No longer will there be a need to go to such lengths to create an identity on the basis of making all members of society identical in thought or in reality. Instead, the fundamental law of the land should proclaim that the basis of unity as well as diversity is the quality of being human. On this basis, political rights, cultural rights, the rights which belong to women by dint of their womanhood, the rights which belong to the youth and children by virtue of their position as the younger generation who will have the responsibility to take society into the future, the rights of the elderly, of workers, of the Native peoples and others will be guaranteed. Such rights can neither be given nor taken away nor forfeited in any way. To establish a Canadian identity on the basis of guaranteeing the enjoyment of these rights would be an honourable act.
 
8. The present attempt to disguise a political agenda in the garb of "values" is retrogressive. These "values" are based on 19th century liberal notions of the superiority of the white race and institutions of self-government and the notion of white man's burden. They are riddled with notions of privilege, not the recognition of fundamental rights. The attempt to modernize the language of the constitution through the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms with talk about equality before the law, without in fact enacting legislation to make it so, has not overthrown the old conceptions upon which government policy is based. Instead of discarding race as a consideration when dealing with social, cultural and political affairs, the 19th century notion of religious tolerance is today applied to cultures. It is one thing to show sensitivity towards the cultures of others. It is yet another to recognize the equality of all cultures. And it is yet another to engage in nation-building and give rise to a distinct culture. The unifying factor is that we make our living within a common territory in a manner determined by a shared economic and political authority. This, in turn, determines the culture, psychology and other features we hold in common. A person whose family comes from India or any other country but is brought up in Canada becomes quite distinct from a similar person brought up in Britain, Australia or East Africa. Their children become creoles in the new land, and their primary concern necessarily becomes to fight for the interests of the society they are born into. 

9. In this regard, there is a need to be forward looking. The Canadian constitution must be rewritten. A new federalism must recognize the rights of all the nations of which Canada is comprised to self-determination and that the basis of Canadian unity is a free and equal union of those nations which seek to join the federation. A union which does not recognize the right of separation is not a solid union. 

Since these views are presented simply in point form, I am at your disposal to expand on them and present specific proposals.