Re-engineering of Quebec draws fire from activists on panel

By Sylvain Comeau

The current re-engineering of the Quebec state is really destruction of its cherished institutions, speakers at a Concordia panel argued recently.

Louis Roy, first vice-president of the CSN, said the Charest government has broken records for voter dissatisfaction and manage to maintain those low numbers as a result. His union has taken up the fight against the current government because that is part of a union's mandate.

“Everywhere in the world, any time right-wing governments want to impose neo-liberal policies, the first line of resistance always comes from unions. That's because unions are the best organized to mobilize resistance.”

He said the CSN would prefer to sit down to talk rather than fight, but the government has left no room for such an interchange.

“There has been an inflation of rhetoric on both sides, and a growing chasm between the two; there is no common area for debate and dialogue. If the government doesn't want to negotiate, we have to react and make them listen, which is something very different from a dialogue."

As if to prove his point, two of Quebec's three major political parties declined an invitation to send a representative to the panel; one accepted, but the designated spokesman failed to appear. "I don't want to criticize people who aren't here, but I live with this all the time," Roy said, gesturing at the empty seats.

The sole other speaker was Alexandra Pierre, coordinator at the citizen's movement organization D'abord Solidaires. She said re-engineering is "a menace to our institutions, and public access to them."

"This is the Quebec version of the IMF and World Bank reforms which have been implemented in the Southern countries of the world. We're seeing a steady disappearance of social services, deteriorating health care, cuts in financial support for students and environmental protection."

Don MacPherson, Gazette Quebec affairs columnist and moderator for the event, asked whether the province still has the means to pay for public institutions, considering that Quebec is more indebted, taxed and poorer than the ROC. In addition, Quebec will soon have two retirees for every worker.

Pierre answered, "The demographic crisis has been exaggerated, because we've greatly increased our productivity. The question isn't whether we're rich enough, because we've never been as rich as we are today. The question is whether we can escape from the narrow ideological framework of today's administration."

At the federal level, the current ballooning government surplus is an alarming sign of apathy to public needs.

"I simply don't believe them when they say that we can no longer afford the public services that we collectively decided, a long time ago, that we want and need. The proof is that governments amuse themselves with projects and schemes we don’t need, and waste money on things like the sponsorship scandal."

Roy said nationalist squabbling in Quebec has detracted from broader issues. "We became so polarized over the nationalist question that we lost sight of what else the state is all about. We don't live in a sect; we live in a pluralistic society with many ideas, and those ideas must circulate."

The problem goes far beyond the ideologies of a given political party.

"In two years, we'll be facing a choice between the Liberals and PQ again. No matter whom we elect, they will do what they want without consulting the public. The problem was not created by the Liberals; the problem is a democratic deficit in Quebec. We need to re-appropriate a political space where ordinary citizens can have a say in how the state is run."

The panel was organized by students of the School of Community and Public Affairs.