(Quebec) “I don’t do politics, but I like talking to them and helping them. »
Sitting in a café in the Sillery district of Quebec, Patrick Taillon, professor of law and specialist in the Constitution at Laval University, recognizes the sometimes tight ties that unite him to Quebec politics.
In recent decades, this former president of the National Youth Committee of the Parti Québécois (CNJPQ), who briefly succeeded the flamboyant and current MP Pascal Bérubé in this seat in 2003, has taken a step back. But judging by the mandates he holds for François Legault’s CAQ government, as well as the calls “from all parties” that he receives to reflect on the issues of the day, his influence remains very concrete.
Patrick Taillon speaks on a wide range of subjects. In Quebec, the ideas of the constitutionalist who rarely says no to an interview – he is regularly quoted by major dailies and participates in the podcast of his columnist friend Antoine Robitaille on QUB radio – go beyond the media sphere.
Since the coming to power in 2018 of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) with its “autonomist” signature, in opposition to sovereignty or federalism, Mr. Taillon – or the nature of his research interests – has gravitated towards the shadow of reflections which led to significant nationalist policies, he who says he is in favor of everything that takes Quebec out of the status quo.
- Affirm in the Constitution that Quebecers form a French-speaking nation;
- End the obligation for deputies of the National Assembly to swear an oath to the King of England;
- Use the notwithstanding clause to protect the Quebec model of secularism against challenges under the charters of rights and freedoms…
For each of these examples, his role varied, he adds. And he never held the decision-makers’ pencils for them, being neither an elected official nor a government employee.
In certain cases, such as for the reform of law 101 in 2022, in which Simon Jolin-Barrette modified the Constitution Act of 1867 to affirm that Quebecers form a nation whose only official language is French, he was consulted before tabling the bill. He remembers a young minister who wanted to understand everything and who asked a lot of questions. What was chosen was not his idea, but he explained the route to take.
On other occasions, he also obtained mandates from the Ministry of Justice, which notably requested him to produce an expert report, which was filed in court, as part of the challenges to Law 21 on laicity. His job was to study equivalent laws that restrict the freedom to express religious beliefs and to recall how the European Court of Human Rights had reacted.
Constitutionalist and nationalist
In a more formal way, we also read during the winter the recommendations of Patrick Taillon – formulated with the former minister Louise Beaudoin, the senior civil servant Clément Duhaime and his colleague at Laval University Véronique Guèvremont – in a strong report to ensure the “discoverability” (the new trendy word in the arts) of Quebec content online on Netflix, Disney+ and other foreign digital giants.
The committee, created by the Minister of Culture, Mathieu Lacombe, notably recommended that the government table a bill to guarantee “the fundamental right to access and discoverability of French-speaking cultural content” by modifying the Quebec Charter of rights and freedoms of the person to add “cultural rights that are fully enforceable and justiciable before the courts”. Observers didn’t see it coming.
Having grown up in the suburbs of Montreal at a time when television still reigned in living rooms as a powerful vector of Quebec culture, Mr. Taillon is worried about the loss of a common base in Quebec.
“With post-truth, with the media crumbling and cultural consumption habits changing, the challenge of tomorrow is to continue to be able to train [un tout] », Explains the 46-year-old professor who asks that we simply call him Patrick, an affable man who is allergic to the image of the academic who looks down on those who do not have his knowledge.
Then, because he is not idle, these days he is studying the questions arising from the divisive debate on gender identity and the issues concerning trans and non-binary people within a “committee of wise men” appointed by the Minister of Families, Suzanne Roy. The mandate affects many sectors: education, health, public security, sports, family, etc.
Finally, with all these mandates and solicitations from the media and politicians, “have you become an influencer?” », we ask him. The question makes him laugh.
“Let’s put it!” »