It鈥檚 the size of a telephone directory: 670 pages in all, outlining the case for Scotland鈥檚 political and economic independence from Great Britain and the process by which it would be implemented.
, known casually as the "white paper鈥� on Scottish independence, was released Tuesday, November 26 to widespread media coverage and political debate across the British Isles and around the world. And last Friday, one of Scotland鈥檚 prominent voices for independence brought the conversation across the pond to Dalhousie.
In what he claimed was the first public lecture by a member of the Scottish cabinet since the white paper鈥檚 publication, Michael Russell, Scotland鈥檚 education secretary, addressed the Scottish national question during his visit to Dalhousie.
Russell鈥檚 public lecture was sponsored by Dal鈥檚 , and was part of a larger Canadian visit by the education secretary to build stronger links between Scotland in Canada in trade and investment, education and science, culture and arts, and diplomacy.
Scotland鈥檚 stand
Built around a question asked in Shakespeare鈥檚 Macbeth 鈥� 鈥淪tands Scotland where it did?鈥� (IV, iii) 鈥� the lecture focused on the principles guiding the nationalist cause in Scotland. It鈥檚 no surprise that Russell is a passionate advocate: he鈥檚 a long-time member of the Scottish National Party, currently the majority government in parliament, and he helped lead the national discussion while serving as minister for culture, external affairs and the constitution.
鈥淭he political and economic union has served its purpose, and needs to be replaced with political and economic independence,鈥� he argued.
Russell joined the National Party in 1974, becoming the party鈥檚 first full-time chief executive 20 years later. He was elected to the Scottish parliament in 1999 and has also served as environment minister.
In his lecture, he discussed the limitations of Scotland鈥檚 current governance, painting a picture of British policies that fail to take Scottish interests into account. He also shared observations on the limited role Scotland is allowed to play in international affairs, despite how important these conversations are to Scotland as a coastal, resource-wealthy region: 鈥淪cotland鈥檚 voice is always heard in the world, second-hand.鈥�
Considering the national question
As for the white paper itself, Russell championed its comprehensiveness 鈥� 鈥淚f you read it at a regular reading pace and started at breakfast, you wouldn鈥檛 be done by dinner鈥� 鈥� and argued it addresses many of the questions Scottish citizens are asking in the lead-up to next September鈥檚 referendum. He also shrugged off what he called a 鈥渇ear鈥� campaign on the part of opponents, saying that many of their claims don鈥檛 properly consider the real choice: weighing the possible outcomes of independence in comparison to the status quo offered by remaining part of Great Britain. On that front, he argued, independence wins.
鈥淓very part of governance would benefit from independence,鈥� he said, later concluding that 鈥渋t is fundamentally better if decisions about Scotland鈥檚 future are made by the people of Scotland.鈥�
Many in the audience were eager to follow up with their own questions about certain topics, from the environment to how the status of women might change in an independent Scotland.
Russell also spent time on campus visiting researchers in the Faculty of Engineering 鈥� he had a particular interest in marine technology work happening in the region 鈥� and also discussed education and policy with some of Dal鈥檚 academic leaders.