The Bloc Quebecois will vote in favour of a Tory motion recognizing the Quebecois as a nation within a united Canada.

In a surprise move, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe said his party will support the motion initiated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper earlier this week.

CTV News has learned that Harper will now push for another major proposal on national unity that would require a Constitutional amendment.

"The prime minister wants to limit federal spending power in exclusive areas of provincial jurisdiction," CTV's Robert Fife reported Friday.

"Discussions are being held with the provinces about achieving this through a Constitutional amendment. This would require the support of seven provinces comprising 50 per cent of the population."

If approved, the federal government would not be able to launch new national programs without the province's approval, and they could opt out with full compensation.

Meanwhile, the Quebec nation motion upstaged a similar one by the Bloc, which had initially called for recognition of Quebec as a nation -- but without mention of Canada.

The phrase "within a united Canada" was meant to prevent separatists from using the motion for their own agenda, but Duceppe said recognition of Quebec nationhood actually gave them another weapon.

"It's always better that when we're fighting for a sovereign Quebec that Canada recognize that Quebecers are a nation. That's a plus," Duceppe told reporters outside the House of Commons.

Agreeing to the language about being in a united Canada was simply recognition of the fact.

"It's more important to recognize the fact that the Quebec nation exists from now on," he said.

Friday in Commons, Duceppe declared: "Objectively, Quebec forms part of Canada."

"To serve Quebec's superior interest, I declare that the Bloc will vote in favour of the prime minister's motion," he said later outside the House.

Duceppe acknowledged the Bloc motion wouldn't be approved in the Commons, so he would opt for the next best thing.

Harper reaction

Reacting to the news, Harper said the Bloc keeps changing its position on the resolution and quipped: "If I can have the support even of the Bloc for Canadian unity, I am happy."

"I think it's important for the country and it's apparently so good for the country that the Bloc Quebecois wants to jump on the bandwagon now," Harper said at a news conference in Montreal.

"This is their third position in three days on the issue. And I think now they have to explain what their raison d'etre is in Ottawa if they're going to pass a resolution put forward by the prime minister that endorses the unity of Canada."

Harper said his preference ever since he became prime minister was to leave the definition of Quebec nationhood up to the Quebec National Assembly.

"But it was the Bloc Quebecois that ultimately insisted that the Parliament of Canada make this decision, and it was the Bloc Quebecois that came forward with a resolution that, while flawed, had some important elements in it," he said.

First of all, Harper continued, the resolution didn't ask for anything for Quebec -- which is a legal jurisdiction.

"What it asked was a recognition of the Quebecois, which is a group of people; a sociological and cultural group. And obviously that made it much easier to deal with."

The prime minister said he recognizes that some Canadians will have difficulty with his decision. But he maintained the Quebecois are a people with a distinct language, culture, history and identity within Canada and, "according to the dictionary definition, that constitutes, in cultural sociological terms, a nation."

He stressed that this nation, however, is "inextricably linked" to Canada.

Meech Lake flashback

Meanwhile, a prominent aboriginal leader is saying it all "smacks of Meech Lake."

Assembly of First Nations Grand Chief Phil Fontaine told The Canadian Press that, just as when the Meech Lake Accord was being formulated more than a decade ago, Canada's aboriginals are being denied a say into what could be a historically significant change to Quebec's status within Canada.

"No one has called us, no one gave us a heads up, no one asked us for our opinion or point of view,'' Fontaine told CP in a phone interview.

Fontaine then demanded that Harper clarify how or whether his motion would impact aboriginal people in Canada.

The Meech Lake Accord was reached by former prime minister Brian Mulroney and 10 first ministers in June, 1987. It was an attempt to bring Quebec into the Constitution and declare it a "distinct society."

The accord died three years later when the Newfoundland and Manitoba legislatures failed to ratify it.

Fontaine emphasized that the Assembly of First Nations recognizes Quebec's historic role within Canada, but said the role of aboriginals must also be recognized.

Fontaine also criticized the Tories for introducing a motion recognizing Quebec's status while it refused to support a UN motion giving aboriginals the right to self determination.

"We have this (Quebec motion) on one hand and on the other we have Canada opposing the Declaration of Indigenous Peoples at the UN," said Fontaine.

"We can't understand the contradiction here."

With a report from The Canadian Press