The pure wool.

Quebec nationalists repeat over and over that their desire for a separate state is rooted in the land. The separatists' line is that Quebec nationalism is geographical not ethnic. Despite constant assurances, non-francophones in Quebec don't buy this. They've heard too many Quebecois blurt out something offensive in unguarded moments to be comforted by official promises that the rights of minorities would be safe in a sovereign Quebec. Former Quebec Premier Jacques Parizeau blamed his narrow defeat in the 1995 referendum on "money and the ethnic vote." His successor, Lucien Bouchard, had earlier talked of the need for Quebec women of "the white races" to have more babies to counter the voting strength of non-francophones.

Minorities see a government that is hostile toward multiculturalism. They see members of the "language police" crisscrossing the province measuring store signs to ensure that the letters on an "ethnic sign" are not larger than their French equivalent. They read in Jacques Parizeau's 1997 book, Pour un Quebec souverain his description of the province's English speakers as "the best-protected and whiniest minority in the Western world."

They hear nationalists referring to themselves as "la pure laine" (the pure wool); a cultural and ethnic group descended from the original settlers of New France. Some separatists have said that only old-stock Quebecois should be allowed to vote in referendums to decide the province's future in Canada.

Asselin Charles is an immigrant from the Caribbean. Originally, he settled in Quebec but felt unwelcome there. He has written about why people who are not pure laine support a unified Canada and oppose separatism: "...immigrants and minorities [in Quebec] face an impossibility. On the one hand official nationalist discourse tells `the others' that to belong they must assimilate; speak French with a Quebecois accent, adopt the historic grudges of the Quebecois nation against the English, feel moved by a wintry landscape, and make Quebec the sole frame of reference of their private and collective lives. On the other hand it makes clear that minorities and immigrants can never become true Quebecois, for `Quebecitude' is some spiritual essence having to do with blood and the land, and can be acquired only through birth, through descent from one who fought on the Plains of Abraham. One is a pure laine or one isn't. One can never become one."

In contrast, writes Mr. Charles, the only requirement for becoming a Canadian is good citizenship. "One does not have to be born a Canadian ... one can become a Canadian." It should not come as a surprise to discover that 90 to 95% of non-francophones voted in favour of federalism in the 1995 referendum.