Committee report on the relaunch of the PLQ | An “affirmation project” for Quebec to relaunch the party

(Quebec) A more nationalist turn is looming among the Liberals, an operation attempted but abandoned in recent years due to internal dissensions.

The committee on the revival of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) brings back the project for a Quebec constitution, recommends obtaining from Ottawa control of temporary immigration and proposes transforming the Senate into the Chamber of the provinces.

Without denying its history and its values, “the Liberal Party of Quebec must put forward a bold, inclusive and unifying nationalism,” writes the committee in its report that The Press has obtained and which will be made public on Thursday. Above all, he presents a “project of affirmation” of Quebec.

MEPs took note of this 80-page document entitled Assert yourself, unite, prosper: A liberal project for all Quebecers.

Formed in March, five months after the PLQ’s electoral debacle, the committee’s mandate was to consult activists, neglected in recent years, and to propose “lines of reflection” to rebuild the party and “reconnect” with Quebecers – not just the French-speaking majority, he insists.

Its co-presidents are André Pratte, ex-senator and former editorialist at The Pressand MP Madwa-Nika Cadet.

“The liberal approach to bringing Quebecers together is based on four pillars: French as the cement of Quebec identity and social cohesion, interculturalism as a model of integration and living together, liberal pluralist secularism and research partnerships with First Nations and Inuit,” he summarizes.

“Pacify the debate”

The committee believes that the PLQ should consider the adoption of an Act on interculturalism – as opposed to Canadian multiculturalism – as a model for the integration of newcomers and the development of cultural diversity. “In order to pacify the debate”, he recommends creating a committee of independent experts responsible for measuring Quebec’s reception capacity, prior to the development of immigration thresholds.

“It is true that today in Quebec there is a legitimate concern about the future of the French language and culture. We do not avoid this observation and we propose here avenues of reflection anchored in the liberal heritage and aimed at bringing together all citizens around Quebec identity,” he explains.

In the same vein, the committee suggests an “in-depth reform of French teaching” and “strong measures” to encourage companies to “intensify the presence of French in their workplaces”.

According to the committee, “the use of laws flouting the rights of Quebecers, as well as the hostility expressed by certain politicians towards immigration, are invariably described as harmful to the protection of French” among liberal activists. This is an allusion to the Legault government.

What nationalism?

The committee concludes that activists “are proud of liberal values” and that we must not “abandon these principles through opportunism or populism.” The PLQ “remains the only authentically federalist party in the National Assembly.” But it is also a “nationalist party” and it must demonstrate it, argues the committee.

In May, during a general council of the PLQ, nationalists publicly said they were running out of steam within the party, which had created a stir. A young activist used a shocking formula: “Being a nationalist in the PLQ is like being a PQ in D’Arcy-McGee”, a constituency on the “West Island”.

During consultations with activists, “if some might be reluctant to call themselves nationalists because they consider that this concept is opposed to diversity, this was not the case for the vast majority of participants who expressed themselves on this theme,” according to the committee. “For them, inclusive liberal nationalism, as well as its corollary interculturalism, makes it possible to reconcile the defense of individual rights and freedoms and the affirmation of the specificity of Quebec. Many have also urged us to reappropriate and put forward the emblems and expressions of Quebec identity, such as Fleurdelisé and the national holiday. »

There is no break with the traditional credo of the PLQ in the committee report. “We must be proud to be Quebecers, proud to be Canadians, and continue to give priority to the defense and promotion of Quebec’s interests within the Canadian federation,” he summarizes. And he insists: “the Liberal Party of Quebec has always defended and will continue to defend tooth and nail the interests of Quebec, first and foremost.”

For the committee, Quebec must today meet three challenges “if it wants to assert itself”: “the fight against economic and social withdrawal, maintaining its political weight in Canada and the proper use of the levers provided by Canadian federalism “. His “affirmation project” aims to respond to this.

The committee therefore recommends making gains outside the Canadian Constitution and modifying the country’s founding text. We should not “fear tensions with the federal government, without seeking to exacerbate them,” according to him.

Constitution

The committee presents the adoption of a Quebec Constitution as a “strong gesture of national affirmation”. “It would constitute an essential basis for ensuring the cultural and linguistic vitality of Quebec, and its political weight,” without involving “confrontation with the federal government or the other provinces.”

This document “should affirm the existence of Quebec as a nation within the Canadian federation, the status of French as an official and common language, the rights and fundamental freedoms of Quebecers and the contribution of cultural communities. The existing rights of the English-speaking community to education and health services in English and to control of their institutions should be clearly recognized in the Quebec Constitution. This should also recognize the rights of the First Nations of Quebec and the Inuit. »

Under Dominique Anglade, the PLQ had flirted with the idea of ​​proposing a Quebec constitution. The former liberal leader had also proposed a law on interculturalism. It was noted that the party had not been nationalist enough under Philippe Couillard. However, internal dissensions led to the abandonment of these ideas.

In recent years, it has been reported that Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette is working on a Quebec Constitution. This is a project that has been in the works for decades.

Negotiations with Ottawa

For the committee, a Liberal government should “work with Ottawa to clarify the Gagnon-Tremblay-McDougall agreement so as to extend the jurisdiction of the Quebec government to the admission of all temporary foreign workers.”

The committee also suggests negotiating with Ottawa to establish a single tax relationship.

It would be “long-term work, especially since there is very little appetite” in the country on the subject, but Quebec should propose reopening the Canadian Constitution to reform the Senate.

The Upper House should become a House of the provinces “in which representatives of the provincial and territorial parliaments would sit, so that the provinces and territories participate directly in the federal legislative process and in the administration of the Canadian federation. This House should include representatives of First Nations and Inuit. »

“By granting Quebec a number of seats that reflects its historical demographic weight (the threshold of 25% would be the acceptable minimum), it would maintain, or even strengthen, the status of Quebec and the influence it enjoys over the organization and the governance of the Canadian federation. », argues the committee.

If there were to be constitutional negotiations one day, the PLQ would demand other changes, namely “the traditional demands of Quebec” from the aborted Meech Lake agreement.

The committee on the revival of the PLQ will present its report to liberal activists on Saturday, during the party’s general council. This gathering will be used to set the rules for the leadership race and the date of the convention.