Jacques Parizeau's English referendum victory speech now public

The English-language version of the speech then-premier Jacques Parizeau would have given in the event of a Yes victory in Quebec's 1995 sovereignty referendum is now publicly available.

• Jacques Parizeau, former Quebec premier, dead at 84

A French version of the speech was made public several months ago when Radio-Canada satirist Infoman Jean-Ren Dufort broadcast a copy that was given to himbyLisette Lapointe, wife of the late Parti Qubcois leader.

It had also been broadcast by Radio-Canada in the months after the referendum, and was read aloud at a tribute to Parizeaufollowing his death last year.

Lapointe recentlydonated a VHStape of the speech to Quebec's provincial library and archives.

The library posted a 36-minute video last week, which contains the entirety ofboth the English and French versions of a speech that has been shrouded in lore for years.

Parizeau recorded the speeches on the afternoon of the referendum vote,Oct. 30, 1995. Copies were delivered to several media outlets, including CNN,with instructions that the tape be broadcast that night should the province vote for independence.

The instructions also stipulated the tape be destroyed if the Noside won.

When the Noside ekedout a victory,Parizeau delivered a rambling broadside that notoriously blamed the sovereignistloss on "money and the ethnic vote."

He resigned the following day, and thosecomments haunted Parizeau for years,prompting speculation about what he would have saidhad the outcome of the vote been different.

In sharp contrast to the No speech, Parizeau appears calm andassured in the recording available on the provincial library's website. Early in the speech, he addresses Quebec's anglophones directly.

"I would like to speak specifically to members of Quebec's English-speaking community, and reiterate theimportance to us of their presence among us and our commitmentto respect and defend their rights," Parizeau said.

"Also, our commitmentto take all measures necessary to guarantee in Quebec's new constitution...[that] the identity of their communityand their institutions is preserved."

He also seeks to reassure immigrants and First Nations that they too will be welcome in an independent Quebec.

Parizeau concedes after Quebec votes No in 1995 referendum on separation

29 years ago

Duration 24:13

A razor-thin victory for the No side prompts relief, resentment and one controversial concession speech.

'What will happen in the days to come?'

The video complicates the impression thatParizeauwould have immediately severed ties with Canada via a unilateral declaration of independence.

"What will happen in the days to come? The sovereignty of Quebec will not be proclaimed right away," Parizeau said."It can be as much as a year before the [Quebec] national assembly makes that proclamation."

In the meantime, he added, little would change in the daily lives of Quebecers. They would continue to pay the GST and receive federal benefits.

"Nothing will change tomorrow in our jobs or in our businesses," he said.

But when the Quebec legislature moves to proclaim sovereignty, Parizeausays, "things will become more simple."

"The Quebec that is beginning today must mobilize our energies, must call on the imagination," he says as he closes the speech.

"Whichever way we voted, we want to, and we can, launch a new Quiet Revolution. We want to, and we can, roll up our sleeves and build a better future."

Parizeaudied last June at age 84.