50 years ago this year, the three major labor centers in Quebec joined forces to bargain collectively with the government. The documentary to be able to forget takes a critical look at the Common Front of 1972: the hope it nurtured, its tragedies and its long-term impact.
Posted at 9:00 a.m.
“The whole history of industrialization is marked by the corpses of women, children and workers”, proclaims Michel Chartrand towards the end of the documentary to be able to forget. It comes full circle, so to speak, since the starting point of David Simard’s film begins by recalling the death of young Herman St-Gelais, mowed down by a fiercely anti-union driver, during the Common Front of 1972.
to be able to forget looks back at the history of trade unionism in Quebec, focusing on this key period when, for the first time, the workers’ struggle was not aimed at a foreign or private employer, but at the state.
In 1972, the three major unions in Quebec – the CSN, the FTQ and the CSQ – joined forces to jointly negotiate the working conditions of employees in the public and parapublic sectors.
The confrontation was hard, marked by riots and sometimes brutal police repression. In response to the vote for an indefinite general strike, the government also enacted a special law accompanied by hefty fines and imprisoned the three leaders of the Common Front: Marcel Pepin of the CSN, Louis Laberge of the FTQ and Yvon Charbonneau of the CEQ.
The collective momentum that stirred up Quebec 50 years ago hit a wall: a few hours before the entry into force of the special law, the union leaders capitulated and recommended that the workers go back to work. A decision from which Michel Chartrand had dissociated himself.
Shattered dreams
to be able to forget takes the time to dissect this symbol of Quebec trade unionism with trade unionists of yesterday, who evoke with a certain nostalgia this movement aimed at taking sides with “the ordinary world”. He also analyzes its discourse tinged with Marxism and revolutionary aims: trade unionism was then perceived as an instrument of combat against capitalism and aimed, summarizes the film, to establish socialism or, at the very least, social democracy.
IMAGE FROM CAN FORGETPROVIDED BY TÉLÉ-QUÉBEC
Gathering in front of the Sept-Îles courthouse in 1972
There is nothing hagiographic about the documentary, however. David Simard skilfully weighs the idealism of the movement and its long-term repercussions, in particular the kind of fine risk taken by the union leaders, who sometimes regret having been too close to the political elites.
This Common Front, bringing hope, has also become the symbol of a failure from which trade unionism is struggling to recover, suggests the documentary filmmaker. “Against broken dreams, he says, there is no longer any remedy, except oblivion. »
What remained of worker power after that? What is left of the unions today? Are they still bearers of social projects – and progress – or simply a link in the management of human capital? Does it make sense to limit yourself to negotiating salary increases of $1 here and there? asks a speaker.
to be able to forget fights in its own way against oblivion, but by raising questions that resonate with the present. And if the film shows a climate of effervescence that we have seen little since, except perhaps during Maple Spring, 10 years ago, it does not hide the violence or the bitterness felt by those whose hopes were dashed.
Wednesday, 8 p.m., at Télé-Québec