Call for Workers and Youth to Reject the Upcoming Legault Government
A Legault majority government is predicted as the outcome of the Quebec election which will take place on October 3. Already the situation of rising costs, fewer services and increasing problems of all kinds has tangibly raised tensions within the society, giving rise to more desperation and problems which exacerbate an already untenable situation. Unacceptable levels of homelessness, hunger, violence against women and minorities, discrimination and state-promotion of racism, criminalization of conscience and dissent are increasing. So too are the government sanctioned projects which pay the rich in the name of high ideals and privatize social programs which push people into "fend for oneself or perish" situations.
Quebeckers do not accept this and are fighting against it. In light of what is actually happening, what does a majority Legault government hold in store for them?
A Legault majority government will act in the name of Quebec nationalism. It will spare no efforts to concentrate police powers in the hands of the executive which will get laws passed by the National Assembly to that effect. For this reason, in this election it is important to cast ballots in a manner that does not permit this government to claim that the people support such a mandate. This can be done by providing a low turnout (abstaining) which shows rejection of the unrepresentative electoral system. It can also be done by going all out to vote for candidates who will use their position to stand for what is right, not what is expedient to preserve pretentions that they have better solutions and in this way to preserve the status quo.
Furthermore, members elected can be called on to refuse to swear allegiance to the King of England called the King of Canada. Should they be prohibited from taking their seats, they should create public opinion over the question of whether a member is elected to represent the people or the constitutional order presided over by this King that represents alien interests. If they can provoke a constitutional crisis it will be an opportunity for everyone to get involved in discussing what kind of constitutional order serves them.
This is important because the vote results will show the fraud of elections under a constitutional order where the people are not represented. This constitutional order permits the executive power to issue decrees in the name of values and interests which are those of the rich and the U.S. warmongers. It permits the rich to become richer at the expense of the majority of the people who are pushed into poverty and reduced to "things" which count for nothing. All of it is done in the name of high ideals and Quebec nationalism. The liberal variant, à la Trudeau federally and those who demand the values called multiculturalism for Quebec, is not an alternative but part of the same package. Both the assimilationist path on the basis of multiculturalism and the nationalist variant known as integrationism amount to exactly the same thing -- the rule of the financial oligarchy over the whole of society which is deprived of political power.
Both variants speak in the name of peace, freedom, democracy
and Quebec values. They are reflected on the global scene in the U.S.
and Europe, where the people are being dragged into tragic civil wars
at home and destructive wars abroad, even World War III. In the U.S.,
the Biden side of the
equation, like the Trudeau Liberals and the NDP in Canada, wants to
concentrate more powers in the hands of the executive while preserving
what they call constitutional order. They do this in the name of
opposing authoritarianism and upholding human rights but their record
at home and abroad makes
these claims not credible. Like them, the Trump side also wants to
wield police powers uncontested. The first Trump administration and
attempted coup d'état on January 6 and the current line of march
of these forces show their aim to use the presidency, the judiciary and
Congress to smash the current constitutional order -- no pretense
whatsoever of being anti-racist or in solidarity with anyone.
All of this will also impact the sectarian factional fights in the post-election Quebec.
A government of police powers
is not the same as speaking about a government which declares martial
law or military rule. The police powers are the prerogative powers
which are exercised above the legislative framework. It shows that the
old forms of rule and governance no longer function. They
were created to fetter the prerogative powers by having a functional
legislature which would sort out differences between the ruling
factions and give the rule of an elite over the people credibility. In
Europe what are called fascist forces -- characterized by racism and
anti-immigrant policies and
propaganda called right-wing nationalism, are gaining against the
so-called liberal left and allegedly centrist forces and governments
and their striving for control over the productive powers which operate
independent of them. The situation is dangerous indeed and cannot be
sorted out by siding
with one side or the other. It can only be sorted out by the working
class taking militant stands which defend its claims on society and
those of society itself.
Quebec is itself caught in this maelstrom, this worldwide state of confused movement and violent turmoil. It is now up to the workers and youth to find a way forward for Quebec, Canada and their own future in the world. In the coming election the workers and youth can themselves decide what is the best way to show they reject this system of cartel party government which permits government of police powers to be brought into being.
As for the government to be elected, it will be very important to speak out against the government's use of a legislative majority to pass laws to give the use of these powers a legal veneer. This includes its use of the "notwithstanding clause" in the Canadian constitution which is said to defend Quebec's interest but in fact brings in legislation which divides the people, does not provide any problem facing the polity with solutions and does not reject the constitutional order enshrined in the Canadian constitution which is against Quebec's interests.
The opposition in the Legislature which claims to be the popular choice has a role to play in this regard. They need to see fit to rise to the occasion and act in accordance with the call of history. They must reject the role given them by the constitutional order which dictates they must limit their action to that of "a loyal opposition." Any claims that this is the responsible thing to do must be contested by the people because the situation is becoming far too urgent and far too dire to take any path which tries to escape the call of history. Marking time in such a way will not render the kind of service the people require.
Far from getting in any way discouraged, the working class must set a new course within which it must debunk the nonsense that its claim for higher wages to weather the current high cost of living fuels inflation, or that the workers are in any way responsible for the terrible recession which is looming when they demand social projects, infrastructure and laws which favour the well-being of the social and natural environment, not the rich. They must discuss and reject the constitutional order which permits government of police powers. They must expose the anti-people, anti-Quebec essence of this constitutional order while they push for democratic renewal and a modern constitution.
On every occasion, it is important to intervene in a manner that helps turn things around in favour of the people, no matter how difficult this may appear to be and in fact actually is. How to intervene in this election which marginalizes the people and ignores their concerns is no exception.
Organizing discussions to work out how matters pose themselves as the anti-social offensive continues to impose a tremendous burden on the people and society is a most important front of organizing work which faces us all in the coming period.
This article was published in
Volume 52 Number 21 - September
30, 2022
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmld2022/Articles/D520212.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca