In his article on the future of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), published in The Press October 281Jérôme Turcotte, a former chairman of the party’s political commission, recalls that “the nationalist history of the PLQ is full of episodes where Quebec Liberals had to anchor themselves firmly in the collective aspirations of the French-speaking majority without losing view of their liberal ideal.
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Mr. Turcotte reminds us that “it was first Louis-Joseph Papineau who rallied the Irish (green), French Canadians (white) and English (red) under a tricolor flag to replace arbitrary monarchy with a democratic; it was Louis-Hippolyte La Fontaine who opposed the English unilingualism of the Act of Union; it is the reds of Antoine-Aimé Dorion who oppose the adoption of the Constitution of 1867 without prior popular consultation; it was Honoré Mercier who invented provincial autonomy, recalling that the federation was created by the provinces and not the reverse; it was Georges-Émile Lapalme who created the Ministry of Culture as well as the Office québécois de la langue française; it was Jean Lesage who occupied the maximum areas of provincial jurisdiction, who nationalized electricity; it was Robert Bourassa who made French the sole official language of Quebec and who promoted the cultural sovereignty of his people; it was Claude Ryan who opposed the unilateral patriation of the Constitution in 1982; it is Robert Bourassa who tries to reintegrate the federation with honor and enthusiasm, who repatriates powers in immigration and who uses the notwithstanding clause while forging a new linguistic compromise after an unfavorable judgment on Bill 101”.
I would add that we also owe the PLQ the Quiet Revolution, the creation of the Ministry of Education, the network of CEGEPs and the University of Quebec, the Caisse de depot et placement, Investissement Quebec, the Quebec Charter of Rights and freedoms and health insurance. Liberal ideology included the separation of Church and State under Gustave Joly de Lotbinière as early as 1869, the first unemployment law under Louis-Alexandre Taschereau in 1936, women’s suffrage under Adélard Godbout in 1940.
Benoît Pelletier, emeritus constitutional lawyer and former Liberal minister, published an article in the newspaper The duty of October 22 in which he proposes several lines of thought to ensure the growth of Quebec within the Canadian federation.2
In particular, there is the delegation of powers in matters of immigration, telecommunications, the environment, supervision of the federal government’s spending power, recognition of the vocation and role of Québec internationally. There is also the possibility of unilateral adoption of a constitution for Quebec. Within the framework of Canadian federalism, Quebec has the power to adopt its own constitution unilaterally, as long as it remains compatible with the Constitution of Canada. This constitution could, for example, deal with interculturalism, gender equality, Frenchness, environmental protection, sustainable development, secularism of the state, etc.
André Pratte, ex-editorialist of The Pressin an article by News published on October 7, refers us to article 1 of the constitution of the PLQ which affirms that the philosophy of the party rests on “the primacy of the person, individual freedoms and the right of each one to carry out its aspirations in the respect of others”. This article must at all times guide the positions taken by the QLP. “The PLQ is the only political party in the province that makes these rights its main anchor. It’s a precious heritage, which the Liberals have no right to squander for illusory gains,” affirmed Mr. Pratte. “The party’s nationalism is enshrined in its constitution, which makes the promotion of Quebec’s interests in the Canadian federation one of its fundamental principles. »
If we add up the above and if the past is a guarantor of the future, we see the DNA of the PLQ appear: a party that does not allow itself to be imposed by Ottawa, resolutely progressive, nationalist, centrist, democratic, federalist and pragmatic, “daring, without being flippant”, said Benoit Pelletier.
The PLQ could start with that.