In presenting his party’s platform yesterday, Gilles Duceppe said he wants Quebec to have its own hockey team in international competition. If ever there was a reason to worry about the Bloc Quebecois, this is it. I’ve often wondered how Team Quebec would fare against Team Canada, and I daresay it wouldn’t be pretty. In goal, Martin Brodeur, Roberto Luongo and Jose Theodore would easily outclass a Canadian trio of, say, Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph and Marty Turco. On defence, Quebec would have the likes of Patrice Brisebois, Eric Desjardins, Stephane Quintal and Philippe Boucher—not too shabby. Up front, of course there’s Mario, as well as the NHL’s leading goal-scorer, Simon Gagne, Alex Tanguay, Vincent Lecavalier, J-P Dumont, Mike Ribiero, Daniel Briere, and young Patrice Bergeron.

For the love of hockey, Quebec, keep this country together!