01) QUEBEC SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT FACES CRISIS
Special report to the Central Committee, Communist Party of Canada, Aug. 27-28, 2011
The defeat of the Bloc Québecois in the federal election has lit a powder keg within the Parti Québecois and the sovereignty movement. The broad consensus around the strategy of "sovereignty governance" proposed by PQ leader Pauline Marois and adopted at the PQ convention in April 2011 has now evaporated. This current crisis, which has in fact been brewing below the surface ever since the sovereignty camp's defeat in the 1995 referendum, burst into the open with the resignation of five PQ MNAs in early June, barely a month after the federal election. These resignations immediately provoked, both within and outside the PQ, a protest movement against the strategy endorsed by the convention.
This strategy, similar to the one adopted by PQ under the leadership of Pierre‑Marc Johnson in the mid-80s, is to gradually repatriate powers from Ottawa to Québec, while deferring indefinitely a new referendum on Québec independence, the raison d'etre of the party. This strategy is actually a compromise to prevent the party from being torn between its two main trends, ensuring that both remain at the head of the sovereignty movement if and when it forms a provincial government. To accomplish this, the PQ must adopt policies capable of winning the support of the bourgeoisie.
Meanwhile, the Coalition for the Future of Québec created earlier this year by two capitalists, former PQ minister Francois Legault and a former Liberal adviser, Charles Sirois, is recruiting heavily in the ranks of the PQ and is becoming a serious threat. Polls show that this coalition, which for the most part is associated with the line put forward by former Premier Lucien Bouchard in his 2005 "lucid" manifesto, could well sweep Québec in the next election if it turns itself into a political party. The PQ would be relegated to third place behind the completely discredited Liberals.
This Coalition reflects the views of the big bourgeoisie in Québec and has won the open support of some of its most important elements, such as the Lemaire family (Paper‑Cascade), Marcel Dutil (Canam‑Manac) and Jean Coutu (pharmacies) as well as others ‑ most of the same elements which in the past had also supported the rise of the ADQ. It is further supported by several forces from the far-right, as Eric Caire, who had run for the ADQ leadership on the platform that the ADQ was not far enough to the right.
Like the "lucid" Lucien Bouchard, the Coalition proposes to `table' the national question for at least the next ten years. The real reason for this strategy is that the bourgeoisie wants to prioritize the "class struggle" against the working class and its interests. This desire is reinforced by the economic crisis.
Indeed, the program it offers of dismantling the so‑called "Québec model" of social benefits is not conducive to establishing the necessary collaboration of classes required for the realization of the sovereignty of Québec. In addition, the Coalition believes that the slogan of sovereignty undermines the unity of the Québec bourgeoisie itself, unity which is needed to fight the working class and popular forces. Finally, the bourgeoisie needs a new political vehicle because the current Charest Liberal government is so discredited.
On the other hand, the so‑called "hardcore" separatists, including many elements outside the PQ, see this crisis as an opportunity to strengthen their position within the sovereignty movement and remove the monopoly of its PQ leadership. For example, a New Movement for Québec (NMQ) has just been created at an August 21 gathering of separatist forces. 450 people attended, including three resigned PQ members, other former PQ deputies, representatives of SPQ libre, etc. Other elements outside the PQ, such as former FLQ members, representatives of the Québec Network of Strength (QPP) and members of Québec Solidaire also participated. Other groups are also involved in public debate for a spot at the helm of the movement, like the new Independence Party, Gilbert Paquette, a former PQ member who in 2007 launched a movement called "Focus on Independence", Option Québec, the new party led by Jean‑Martin Aussant (another PQ MNA who resigned in June; this party was formally launched on Sept. 20 as Option Nationale), and even André Parizeau and his nationalist group.
Their positions largely reflect the view of a petty bourgeoisie eager to maintain class collaboration to achieve sovereignty at the earliest possible date. They strongly criticize Legault for his "betrayal" of the sovereignty cause, and the PQ due to its inconsistency in its promotion. One proposal that receives a lot of support among this group is "the convening of the Estates General of the sovereignty movement" where all the separatist forces, including the PQ, would be required to negotiate the terms of a new strategic alliance. The PQ immediately rejected this proposal stating that it alone must define such guidelines.
The PQ says that "the new movement for Québec" is "populated by" a lot of extremists and radicals" and is therefore reluctant to join it in any way whatsoever.
This crisis is certainly the worst experienced by the PQ and threatens its very existence. It could result in a significant redeployment of political forces in Québec.
(The above article is from the October 1-15, 2011, issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)