With this series, the editorial team goes back to the sources of a Quebec model that is struggling in the hope of rekindling its first sparks, those that allowed our nation to distinguish itself from others. Aujourd’hui: le Québec inc.
What is Quebec Inc., basically? It is above all a societal project that Yves Bélanger, professor in the Department of Political Science at UQAM, describes as a “development model based on a particular alliance between public and private economic powers.” Its goal was not so much to create a class of millionaires and billionaires. Rather, it is the result of a process by which Quebec has taken its economic destiny into its own hands.
The water carriers of yesteryear have given way to flamboyant entrepreneurs in a dizzying rise that has passed the 60-year mark. In this time, enrichment has gone from being a shameful sin to an assumed pride. This legacy of the Quiet Revolution is just as important as health insurance, access to education, the creation of the Ministry of Culture or the adoption of Bill 101.
With the emergence of the Société générale de financement in 1962 and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in 1965, this unique nation accelerated the nascent economic recovery by putting the patient resilience of the State at the service of collective enrichment. The CDPQ’s assets crossed the billion dollar mark in 1970; today they are $434 billion. This is just one example of the vast successes of Québec Inc., a nexus of builders and entrepreneurs who shine here and elsewhere.
Behind the curtain of Quebec Inc. also hides a graveyard of public funds swallowed up in stillborn projects in the crudeness of cronyism or greed. The socialization of risk is no less important than before, because it is the same with economic Quebec as with language and culture. In such a strong but small nation, state interventionism will always be one of the ingredients for the success of the Quebec model. We must only remember to share the profits equally.
Quebec Inc. can do better, and so can our governments. The first condition is to demonstrate rigour, transparency and fairness in the granting of public assistance, and to preserve the independence of the public and parapublic institutions that watch over the destiny of Quebec Inc. A certain amount of ministerial discretion is necessary in a democracy, but not to the point of making it the sole driving force behind decisions that are made for our collective future. This is all the more important when political cycles produce governments that are fond of centralizing management of the State’s major missions.
It is also important to remember that the Quebec economy is a hive of SMEs, the cradle of innovation and the economic miracles of tomorrow. Quebecers are now among the top of the class in the world for their entrepreneurial spirit. This momentum, which is now in its second or third generation, must be supported to avoid the phenomenon of SMEs that grow only to be sold to the highest bidder once they reach maturity.
Finally, Quebec Inc., still considered a societal project, must continue its evolution towards collective advancement goals and consider its success beyond individual enrichment and shareholder returns. Whether in the fight against climate change, in access to public services or in reducing inequalities, we are able to see that neither the State nor the private sector with its market economy logic has the definitive answers to contemporary challenges.
The social economy emerged at the turn of the 1980s from the observation that local communities could not wait for the state or private enterprise to repair the urban fabric and the vitality of urban areas ravaged by deindustrialization, unemployment and poverty. Projects and initiatives such as the FTQ Solidarity Fund, Fondaction, the Chantier de l’économie sociale, led by a pioneer, Nancy Neamtan, and the Société de développement Angus, under the direction of Christian Yaccarini, have helped bring renewal to Québec Inc.
The social economy, which places the liberation of human potential at the heart of its mission, is charting the course for a different world by proposing the junction between the local and the global, between the individual and the collective. It is at odds with the irrepressible rise of high finance in economic decisions, but its time will come. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development is now banking on sustainable and inclusive economic growth for member countries, two conditions that the capitalist system, in its current state, is unable to meet. This is an opportunity to reposition the Quebec Inc. social project and to bet on growth on a human scale.