"This Nation within a Nation crap is just a cover for Harper's inability to do anything meaningful."

Once again, may I point out that it was not Harper that raised this issue? It was opened up by Michael Ignatieff and his supporters in the Liberal Party, then the Bloc Quebecois jumped on it. Harper had the choice of either letting the Bloc and/or the Liberals score a great propaganda coup at the expense of the Tories, or of coming up with a way of beating them both at their own game. He chose to do the latter. In the process, although the outcome remains to be seen, he may have successfully steered the country past the latest potential national-unity crisis. I think this is "meaningful", and unfortunately the Bloc and the Liberals made the whole matter a "priority".