The Politics of Identity, Or How the PQ Lost Its Soul

6 Pierre Karl Péladeau’s fist pump and call “to make Quebec a country”, with Pauline Marois leading the applause. The defining moment and indelible image of the Quebec campaign. Montreal Gazette photo The Politics of Identity, or How the PQ Lost Its Soul Bernard St-Laurent n Monday, March 31, seven days before the provincial elec- O tion, Premier Pauline Marois sur- prised everyone. Pundits and campaign gurus will spend years reliving the At her morning meeting with the media, standing in front of her candidates from narrative of the spectacularly flawed campaign run by the Mauricie region, Marois announced outgoing Parti Québécois Leader Pauline Marois. What she was prepared to invoke the notwithstanding clause of the Constitution to on earth were they thinking? One of the province’s most shelter Bill 60, the so-called charter of experienced political observers argues that the PQ didn’t secular values, from court challenges. just gamble away its minority mandate on a flawed It was surprising because the government had claimed for months that confiden- strategy, it allowed the ghost of a previous election to tial justice department legal opinions skew its thinking on the value of identity politics. indicated Bill 60 would survive a court challenge. The Quebec Human Rights Commission and the Quebec Bar Association, among others, argued the opposite. In their view, preventing public sector workers from wearing overt religious symbols was a clear violation of human rights and would almost certainly be declared invalid. Even former Supreme Court justice Claire Policy 7 L’Heureux Dubé, a supporter of the The Quebec Human Rights Commission and the Quebec Bar charter of values, had encouraged the Association, among others, argued the opposite. In their government to protect Bill 60 by invoking the notwithstanding clause. view, preventing public sector workers from wearing overt Bernard Drainville, the minister re- religious symbols was a clear violation of human rights and sponsible for the charter, simply dis- would almost certainly be declared invalid. missed the warnings. So why the sudden turnaround? On columnists around the province de- ing that Quebecers opposed un-rea- the same day Marois affirmed her plored the embarrassing incident. sonable religious accommodations. willingness to protect the charter by Later that week Marois also conceded Months and months of nasty debate that people in public service who re- invoking the notwithstanding clause, ensued. Polls showed that a majority fused to remove their religious sym- La Presse columnist Vincent Marissal of Quebecers supported the charter of bols would indeed lose their jobs. exposed the master strategy behind values. But when time came to vote, the PQ’s “virage identitaire.” Maris- o how could the PQ have gotten only eight per cent of voters said it sal explained how a trio of sovereign- was a priority issue for them. The tist intellectuals convinced Marois it so wrong? In 2007, the PQ finished third behind the Lib- overwhelming majority of those who to take the party down the tortuous S were in favour of Bill 60 didn’t feel erals of Jean Charest and the Action road of identity politics in a way it strongly enough about it to let the is- had never gone before. Démocratique du Quebec led by Ma- rio Dumont. sue drive their vote. It was a very dif- The plan was to adopt the charter with- ferent story for those who were op- out a notwithstanding clause, with the During the entire campaign, the posed to it. ADQ had stirred questions around expectation of a court challenge and a Meanwhile, Philppe Couillard was likely ruling of unconstitutionality. religious accommodations and the loss of Quebec identity. This was the able to assemble an impressive team The belief was that a rejection of the beginning of the notion of unreason- of newcomers to the Liberal Party. Charte de la laicité, based on a consti- able accommodations, which eventu- They included Economists Carlos tution Quebec never signed, would ally led to the Bouchard-Taylor Com- Laitao and Martin Coiteux, invest- stir enough negative sentiment to mission on accommodation practices ment banker Jacques Daoust, Hélène launch the third referendum cam- related to cultural differences. The David, the vice rector at the Univer- paign. In making the announcement, 2007 loss was a devastating blow to sité de Montréal and the sister of Que- Marois denied the allegation that she the PQ. To this day, many Péquistes bec Solidaire leader Françoise David, was looking for a fight. believe they lost the election because as well as François Blais, the former By the last week of the campaign, Dumont and the ADQ outflanked dean of the faculty of social sciences the charter strategy was already in them on identity issues. at Laval University in Quebec city. big trouble. During the televised de- All of this made it easier for some, They all said opposing the charter was bates, the opposition party leaders like sociologist Jacques Beauchemin one of the essential reasons behind made the case that 90 per cent of (whom Marois later named associ- their decision to get involved in active the charter could have been adopted ate deputy minister responsible for politics. Maclean’s reported the charter unanimously, including provisions language), to continue pushing for a was also the driving force that led for- affirming the neutrality of the state, greater focus on ethnic nationalism. mer Premier Daniel Johnson Jr. to play an active role in the Liberal campaign asserting the equality of men and Marois bought into those arguments. women and setting out the guide- and eventually oversee Couilllard’s lines to deal with requests for reli- In the 2012 election, she promised transition team after the election. gious accommodations. to toughen up Quebec’s language So, at the end of the 2014 election laws, introduce a charter of secular- They accused Marois of choosing to the PQ finds itself reeling from its ism, adopt a Quebec constitution and worst electoral performance since exploit the more divisive articles to introduce the teaching of a Nation- heighten social tension rather than 1970. The Liberals have increased al Quebec History. And yet the first their popular support by 400,000 seeking consensus. The day before, warning signal that identity politics Janette Bertrand, an 89-year-old Que- votes. Young francophone Quebecers might not be the answer for the PQ have rejected the politics of division. bec media icon, claimed the charter came in the results of that very elec- was needed to prevent rich Muslim For the PQ, hopes of gaining support tion. After nine years of Liberal gov- outside of its ever-aging francophone McGill students from taking over the ernment, amid constant talk of col- base have been shattered. swimming pool at her private condo lusion and corruption within Liberal in downtown Montreal. Bertrand ranks, the PQ received less than one Quebecers now have four years to had lent her name to a movement of per cent more of the popular vote mend relations with each other. And Quebec women brought together by than the Liberals (31.95 per cent to the PQ, the party of René Lévesque, media personality Julie Snyder, Pierre 31.20 per cent). has four years to find its lost soul. Karl Péladeau’s ex-partner. No one, not the premier, not Drainville, nor ithin a few months of Bernard St-Laurent is the host of any of the other PQ candidates at- forming a minority gov- C’est la vie and Radio Noon on CBC tending the event at which Bertrand W ernment, the PQ set in radio one. He is also the CBC`s senior told the story, said anything about motion the identity debate by leaking political analyst in Quebec. the absurd scenario. Within hours, a poll to the Journal de Montreal show- [email protected] May/June 2014.

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