(Saguenay) Québec solidaire delegates adopted the Saguenay declaration, a political text which is the first step towards the “pragmatic” turn of the party.
The change in the party’s position towards the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA) was at the center of the debates on Sunday. The members decided to maintain the historic position of solidarity, namely to oppose the union monopoly, but the party will recognize the role of the UPA in “the protection of producers of different scales” and “support that a variety voices are expressed there.
It was the toughest proposal, because it had to be adopted by two-thirds. Deputy Alejandra Zaga Mendez carried the ball and summarized the issue this way on the microphone during this National Council: agriculture is in crisis, a “social movement is underway”, and this social movement is represented by the UPA.
“At this moment, more than ever, we must recognize this union,” said M.me Zaga Mendez. This monopoly is a force that acts as a “bulwark” to protect Quebec’s food sovereignty.
Activists, however, strongly opposed it. A left-wing party that wants to leave capitalism must assume that it will create conflicts, explained one man. Another added that “the UPA is an accelerator of agricultural destruction, they represent fuck all “.
A former co-owner of a farm, who had to sell last year, came to the defense of the UPA. ” Farmers rush their life. They want to close because they are not capable. People are mobilized and we must listen to them. I always have the impression that farmers are being infantilized. It bothers me deeply. »
Like any union, the UPA is a democratic space for thousands of people rooted in all regions of Quebec.
A former co-owner of a farm
An activist from Mauricie stressed that farmers do not need a structural war, and that the weakening of the UPA could allow companies like TES Canada to install wind turbines on agricultural land.
Contentious amendments defeated
Tax junk food? Promote plant production? Amendments that seemed more contentious were defeated.
Proof that the debates were fierce: several activists came to the microphone to oppose a “motion of congratulations for the tour of the regions”.
The debate on the Saguenay Declaration began on Saturday, in favor of the management of QS and the “pragmatic” turn of Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. The first amendments distorting it were rejected.
PHOTO TOM CORE, THE DAILY DAY
Interventions of a maximum duration of two minutes were granted to members wishing to express their views on the proposed amendments.
One of the opponents, longtime activist André Frappier, objected. Points from the Saguenay Declaration, the flagship element of the “pragmatic” shift, contradict his program, particularly concerning the role of the forestry industry, he lamented.
Mr. Frappier therefore wanted to use a “point of order” which would have prevented the parliamentary wing from using this declaration as a political tool to transform it into a simple “report”. The former interim co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire returned to his maneuver. “We are going to work together,” he said into the microphone, before being warmly applauded.
The amendments calling for the nationalization of housing and the battery sector were largely defeated. “It’s a lot of money,” MP Haroun Bouazzi pleaded on the microphone.
There is also no question of excluding the forestry industry or of crossing out the passage on the importance of “quality jobs linked to the exploitation of natural resources”. “The industry isn’t just the big guys, it’s the small general contractors who do planting and reforestation,” noted an activist from Charlevoix.
Political program
Later in the day, delegates must consider the need to prune Québec Solidaire’s political program, another step in the party’s shift. The question of the UPA monopoly could be discussed again there.
To get his party out of the plateau it is facing, while the indicators do not point towards an improvement in voting intentions and QS obtained fewer votes in 2022 than in 2018, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois proposes three priorities to its members .
1er May, while his party was in crisis following the resignation of Émilise Lessard-Therrien, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois explained the “pragmatic” turn of Québec solidaire to be able to become a government party. The Saguenay declaration, resulting from a tour of the regions, was a first step.
The co-spokesperson also proposed to review from top to bottom the political program of Québec solidaire, then to review the structure of the party, set up at a time when the solidaires had few or no elected representatives in Parliament.