The Canadian Parliament recognized Quebecois as a nation within a united Canada on Monday, backing a controversial proposal that has already prompted one minister in the minority Conservative government to resign.

The House of Commons, the Canadian Parliament's elected chamber, voted 266-16 in favour of the motion, which the government said it saw as a way to head off pressure from French-speaking separatists who want to break away from Canada.

Critics said the proposal could actually bolster the separatists, and the pro-independence Bloc Quebecois said it would use the change to demand extra powers, including Quebec's right to speak at international meetings.

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Michael Chong resigned over the vote and said the separatists would use it to sow confusion.

"I believe in this great country of ours, and I believe in one nation, undivided, called Canada," Chong, whose cabinet brief included Ottawa's ties with Quebec and Canadian provinces, told a news conference.

"They (the separatists) will argue that if the Quebecois are a nation within Canada, then they are certainly a nation without Canada."

"I believe that recognizing the Quebecois as a nation, even within a united Canada, is nothing else than the recognition of an ethnic nationalism and that I cannot support," he said.

Chong's resignation does not threaten the government's survival, but it does underline the political tension over the status of Quebec, which has held two failed referendums over whether to break away from Canada.

Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper drafted the motion last week in response to one from the Bloc that recognized Quebecers as a nation, but did not include the words "within a united Canada."

Asked Tuesday about Chong's resignation, Harper defended his course of action.

"This government believes strongly that the time has come for national reconciliation," said the Prime Minister.

"That is why we put forward the motion before the House. It recognizes the Quebec nation within a united Canada. We believe this is the kind of respect and reconciliation that Quebecers are looking for."

Following Chong's resignation the news for Harper did not improve later on Monday, when Conservative candidates did poorly in two by-elections to fill vacant seats in Parliament.

The party had hopes of capturing London North Centre in the powerful central province of Ontario but came in third behind the Green Party and the victorious Liberals.

As expected, the Bloc easily retained control over its stronghold of Repentigny in Quebec, winning 67 percent of the vote compared with just 19 percent for the Conservatives.

Quebec already calls its legislature the Quebec National Assembly and calls Quebec City its national capital.

"It won't change anything in their day-to-day lives," Industry Minister Maxime Bernier, a leading Quebec legislator, insisted during parliamentary debate. "It won't give Quebecers more powers."

(China Daily November 29, 2006)