By Rob Lyon
February, 1999
The recent election in Québec has once again brought to the fore the question ofQuébec separation. The Parti Québecois and the Liberals espouse their opinions onseparation and federalism. Both clearly represent the bourgeois perspective and interests.But who talks about issues facing workers and youth? What are the socialist alternativesto the problems in Québec?
The central question in Québec is the national question - should Québec separate orshould Québecers vote to stay a part of Canada? The PQ (Parti Québecois) stands on oneside and says that the only solution is to separate and become a sovereign state. TheLiberals, on the other hand, say that the only solution is to remain a part of Canadawithin a federalist union. But both parties are parties of capital, representing theinterests of the bourgeois class. There is essentially a struggle within the capitalistclass in Québec (and Canada), with one side firmly behind the Liberals who they believecan best defend private property and profit within Canada, and one side behind the PQ whothey think can best ensure bourgeois property in a separate Québec. Both parties handdown bourgeois interests to the workers as the interests of all Québecers in the abstractlanguage and phraseology of "nation", "cultural identity", and"sovereignty".
The Parti Québecois
The PQ presents itself as the party of all Québecois, and maintains high electoralsupport under the veil of social democracy. The PQ has had the support of the two-thirdsof Québec Labour organized in "National" unions, and has followed somereformist policies. From this they can boast a publicly funded unemployment insurance,welfare, health care, low cost services from "publicly" owned utilities, and lowuniversity tuition fees. All of these gains are now coming under attack.
The PQ is fundamentally the party of the francophone bourgeoisie. The party was formedfrom splits in the Liberal and Tory parties (who are the parties of capital) to defendQuébec capital who feared the francophone workers would rise up against both the Englishand the French bosses. Intellectuals, who were frustrated with the problems in Canada andthe absence of any clear and viable class alternative, also joined in the"national" struggle. The wooing of the trade unions in Québec by the PQ hasmore to do with the bankruptcy of the old labour organizations then any progressiveness onbehalf of the PQ.
The PQ distorts the class struggle with the "national" struggle. The tradeunion bureaucrats, who were completely unable to offer a real class alternative to theproblems facing workers, were easily convinced by the power and prestige offered by the PQand the promise of an independent Québec. During the election a number of major unions,most notably the teachers, came out against the PQ government due to pressure from below.The firefighters have also engaged in militant industrial action. The reactionaryanti-trade union laws have forced the firefighters into illegal action - this is a heraldfor the future.
The PQ can offer nothing to workers and youth on the basis of an independent capitalistQuébec. Some on the left support a "yes" vote for capitalist independence inthe belief that, upon separation, the PQ would split and "normal" class politicswould ensue, or that the result of independence would be an economic collapse which wouldincite the working class to revolution. Both of these ideas are merely variants of thediscredited Stalinist two-stage theory - first capitalist independence, then socialism inthe dim and distant future. Poverty does not necessarily equal revolutionary movements ofthe workers - if that were true, then Africa would be in a state of continuous revolution.In reality, an independent capitalist Québec would be disastrous for workers in Englishand French Canada. It would not help francophone workers that suffer discrimination, butit would weaken the links of working class solidarity, such as shown by the strikingAbitibi paper mill workers in Quebec, Ontario and the Maritimes. An independent Québecwould be even more dependent upon American and Canadian imperialism, which would undermineculture and push down wages and conditions. Some Bloc Québecois MP's have even proposedthe adoption of the $US upon separation. An economic crisis would be taken out on workersand minorities in the name of defending the "French nation". This is not arecipe for revolution, but for increased division on sectarian lines exploited by PQdemagogues. A danger in such a situation could be that the PQ leaders, and the bosses whoback them, would suspend "democracy" and rule by decree to defend the"nation". This would be disastrous for trade unions and all Québecois workers.
Nationalism or Socialism?
In the last analysis the national question is a question of bread. In times of hardshipthe ruling class always use divide and rule tactics to take the heat off themselves. Theonly way to dissolve the national divide and solve the problems of society is socialistpolicies for homes, jobs, decent wages and education for all. Neither anglophone norfrancophone workers can succeed in isolation or along national lines. Canadian workers,both French and English, must struggle in unity. The different peoples are not the causeof the problem - the capitalist system of exploitation is.
The labour movement lacks a voice in Québec. Unions are tied to the ruling class andthe NDP is nearly non-existent. The National unions need to break with the PQ andLiberals, unite with the Canadian Labour Congress unions, and create an independent partyof Labour with a socialist program. Such an event would shake society to its foundations,challenging the dominion of the bourgeois parties and their class.
The present round of elections solve nothing. Québec workers have a burning passion tocontrol their own destiny, and must be given full rights to self-determination. Separationunder Capitalism would be a set-back, but in a Socialist society all nations will be freeto decide their own fate, including separation. As a free participant in a socialistfederation of Canada and the Americas, Québec could ensure the flowering of its culture,while ending the system that measures humanity in dollars and cents.