A leadership race for a party that has spent a lot of time in opposition is often seen as an opportunity to reposition itself on the political spectrum. But in the case of the Quebec Liberal Party (PLQ), we should rather talk about simply regaining a place on the spectrum, from which it has been largely absent for several years.
To accomplish this, you need good candidates, but above all, you need ideas. And it is interesting to note that ideas have started to circulate within the PLQ in recent weeks. They are not all of the greatest interest, but they will at least have the merit of sparking in-depth debates.
The first is not new and comes from the party’s political commission; it is about providing Quebec with its own constitution.
It’s true that British Columbia has had its own constitution for nearly 30 years. But the document merely codifies existing practices, from the election of the Speaker of the House to the fact that cabinet ministers are allowed to have government-paid company cars. In short, it’s a bit presumptuous to call it a constitution.
The Quebec constitution would necessarily be broader. It would probably include a section on institutions and some fundamental texts such as the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms or the Charter of the French Language.
But the devil being in the details, the big problem would be its ratification. A simple vote by the National Assembly would not give it the greatest legitimacy.
And this question is crucial. Because if there is a problem with the Canadian Constitution resulting from the unilateral repatriation of 1982, it is that of legitimacy. Here is a constitution adopted by a simple vote of the federal Parliament and without the agreement of Quebec, the only province with a French-speaking majority.
So what do we do in Quebec? A referendum, perhaps? Except that it is hard to see the Quebec Liberal Party launching a referendum on a constitutional issue. The failure of the referendum on the Charlottetown Accord in 1992, which marked the beginning of the end of Robert Bourassa’s reign, still haunts too many Liberals.
A simple vote by the National Assembly would have no more legitimacy than the one that gave us repatriation and the 1982 Constitution. So what do we do? Even the most fervent supporters of a Quebec constitution have not yet found a solution.
But we will also have to reconcile everyone on the meaning of certain fundamental rights. We cannot forget that the CAQ government has used the notwithstanding clause twice – and in a preventive manner – in its laws on secularism and linguistic issues. Should the Quebec constitution give the last word to the law or to elected officials? Beautiful (and long) debates in perspective.
Quebec’s economic future should also be the subject of debate in the PLQ leadership race. For example, candidate Charles Milliard, who has just left the leadership of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec, has an interesting vision that is very different from that of the current government.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Charles Milliard
According to him, we must question the CAQ government’s obsession with economic megaprojects when the real backbone of the Quebec economy rests on small and medium-sized businesses.
However, currently, 25,000 of the 271,000 SMEs in Quebec are for sale throughout the province, according to the candidate. Almost 10%, which is huge, whatever the circumstances.
He also plans to review the many subsidy programs that can have perverse effects, among other things, on competition. And he is concerned that energy seems to have become the sole concern of Pierre Fitzgibbon, whose mandate as Minister of the Economy should be much broader.
His remarks are interesting in their moderation. There have been far too many candidates for important positions in recent years who have proposed outright blowing up the “Quebec model” without proposing any alternative solution whatsoever. As if reform – especially on economic issues – were not possible in their eyes and that it was therefore necessary to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
The PLQ leadership race has not yet begun and the candidates have not all declared themselves. But we can still hope for real debates of ideas and not just a membership card sales contest that gives a lot of power to the organizers and very little to the candidates’ programs.
It is only through a debate of ideas that the PLQ can regain its relevance and its place on the political scene.
What do you think? Join the dialogue