The controversial adoption of Bills 21 and 96 – and especially the evocation of the derogation provisions aimed at shielding them from the control of judges – has put the notion of the Quebec “nation” back at the heart of the debates.
Posted yesterday at 9:00 a.m.
Quebec has reached the maturity of a true nation – for the moment within a federation that is admittedly imperfect, but which Quebecers have not wanted to give up. And they continue to shape. With this maturity comes power and responsibility.
The powers of Quebec are not those of an entirely sovereign state. Only independence could give it such powers (which are not absolute, globalization and international law oblige). But the powers of Quebec within Canada are considerable and are the envy of many federated entities elsewhere in the world.
Canadian federalism – with all its flaws – did not prevent Quebec from carrying out its Quiet Revolution and developing a modern and open society. In French. Even if they are weakened today, progressive social policies have been developed by Quebecers, on the territory of Quebec.
The autonomy of Quebec is not in doubt. As a reminder, the term comes from “auto-nomos”: our own standards. We largely make our own decisions. Good or bad. Obviously not entirely independently.
Whether we celebrate it or deplore it, Quebec is still part of Canada and cannot control everything. But he knows a lot.
If simple majority rule had been in use in Canada for more than 150 years, the Quebec nation might no longer exist. There is no doubt that some, elsewhere in the country, wanted this disappearance, whether according to the Durham formula (death by assimilation) or by the transformation of French-speaking Quebecers into a minority like the others, albeit endowed with language rights (Pierre Elliott Trudeau). However, neither of these two projects came to fruition.
Quebec does indeed form a nation within a Canada that somehow recognizes that it is multinational. Whether we like it or not, federalism has conferred important levers on Quebec (levers that are not enjoyed by French-speaking minorities elsewhere in Canada). Institutions, skills, resources.
But with that autonomy come serious responsibilities. Those that are incumbent on people and peoples who have power. Who may have been victims of conquest, domination, oppression. But who have largely come out of these historic trenches.
Quebec is a nation that is both a minority (and therefore vulnerable) and a majority (and therefore powerful).
A “small” nation in a world struggling with the rise of authoritarianism which – in the name of the people – challenges individual and collective rights. Who rejects diversity and fears “the other”. A world where the executive power too often exploits the legislative power and demonizes the judicial power. The Quebec nation must resist these abuses.
We have the power – and the responsibilities – to promote and defend a just, inclusive, free and deeply democratic society. Who recognizes the injustices suffered, but who acts with openness, and who understands that the simple “majority” is neither always right nor all the powers.
That a majority must take minorities seriously. That democracy is not just a way of making decisions, of governing. Democracy is based on deliberation between different groups and institutions, transparency and checks and balances. Democracy implies the obligation to explain and justify the validity of the decisions taken. To accept that these are questioned and controlled.
This does not mean renouncing a project for a French-speaking society or a real separation of State and Church. This does not mean automatically endorsing the multiculturalism that seems to go without saying elsewhere, or accepting the end of inadmissibility that Ottawa offers us when we talk about constitutional “conversations”. That doesn’t mean bowing your head to Quebec-bashing.
On the other hand, taking responsibility as a nation means renouncing to use the levers of power in a visceral way in the name of a simple majority. Renounce the use of closure in the National Assembly when crucial laws for social cohesion are debated. Resist the temptation to govern by decree rather than by law (it’s so much more effective!).
Hesitate seriously before suspending fundamental rights – especially those which Quebec has acquired thanks to its own Charter of Rights, adopted before the Canadian Charter, and directly inspired by international law. One can criticize the mode of appointment of judges, and contest their influence, but without denying the importance of this counter-power.
Democracy is recognizing that the nation does not speak and think with one voice.
The Quebec nation must stay the course – be a democratic and inclusive beacon in a world where xenophobia, populism and corruption distort public debate and threaten social peace. She must show that she knows how to use her powers, her autonomy, to resist these abuses. To be a nation we can continue to be proud of.