Fall Session of Quebec National Assembly
A Cartel Party Circus to Drown Out Serious Deliberations
Quebec's National Assembly opened its fall session on September 10 and every sitting day since then has provided a televised circus of rivalry between the cartel parties. In long angry speeches, these parties accuse each other of lies, dishonesty and passing the buck, with revelations of who has achieved the most in the past (along with figures to back it up), who has broken their word, and who would be the best option for the next government. This rivalry is sharpened by popularity polls. The interventions are controlled and timed to ensure that all the cartel parties can put their two cents into this miserable dead end.
None of this has anything to do with carrying out a nation-building project that meets the demands and needs of the people and unites the nation of Quebec. All are expressions of the failure of these so-called democratic institutions, where personal attacks and the promotion of narrow interests are presented as political discussions. All those things that are dear to the hearts of the people of Quebec and part of their nation-building project -- such as protection of the territory and the human beings who live there, language, and social solidarity -- are used as tools of division by the parties of the National Assembly in their fight to be in power.
Constant Efforts to Divide so No Serious Discussion Can Be Heard
In the absence of politics, it is criminalization and the creation of scandals that dictate decisions. At the heart of the debate in the Assembly on the Secularism Act and defence of the French language is the need to strengthen these and to criminalize those who do not respect them. This is coupled with anti-immigration debates about the acceptable number of French-speaking immigrants to allow into Quebec. Meanwhile organizations involved in teaching French to newcomers denounce the unacceptable cuts in funding by the Legault government to the service they provide.
The government's anti-social offensive is destroying the social fabric, cutting resources and staff, and attacking any serious discussion carried out by teachers, nurses, families and others. This discussion is drowned out in an atmosphere where chaos and anarchy are raging. Quebeckers are told, first of all by Premier Legault, that Quebec must defend its values and its so-called democratic institutions. Meanwhile the people are excluded from any equation and deprived of any decision-making power. This does not work.
Growing Opposition Demands Power to Decide on All Fronts
The National Assembly is carrying on this work in the context of a growing movement opposed to the plans to sell off Quebec's natural resources to serve the war machine and the war economy of the United States.
For months and even years, many communities in Quebec have been taking action to say No! to this all-out sell-off for the benefit of major private interests with the collaboration of the provincial and federal governments. They are defying this authority that acts with impunity. They want decision-making power over the use of natural resources and to stop the shameless destruction of their farmland, their homes, their health and lives being carried out in the name of a green economy -- a ploy to pay the rich and serve the war economy of the U.S.
Citizens' opposition to the Pentagon-funded graphite mine project in Petite-Nation is significant. They refuse to have their lives turned upside down to serve the war industry by a government that talks about the "social acceptability" of projects that are not acceptable. They are ready to hold a referendum in November 2025 on this question of who decides.
On September 27, the Quebec Day of Action "For the Future of the World" was held to defend the natural and social environment. Thousands of Quebeckers took part in actions in their regions. In Montreal, contingents from the Hautes-Laurentides, Lanaudière, Mauricie, St-Élie-de-Caxton, Low, Lacs de la Petite Nation, Lac Doré, Outaouais, Lac-des-Plages were clearly identifiable with their signs: "Incompatible with mining activity!"
Opposition to logging is also growing. In Saint-Zénon in the Lanaudière region, citizens recently launched a petition on the National Assembly website to declare a moratorium on logging in their municipality.
Wind turbines are also a major concern. Among other things, these projects encroach on agricultural land, devalue properties, and cause noise and visual nuisances. The municipalities of Saint-Venant-de-Paquette, Saint-Malo, Sainte-Edwidge-de-Clifton, Saint-Herménégilde, Dixville and Coaticook are among the project areas under study. In the Coaticook regional county municipality (MRC), a petition was filed with elected officials in September requesting guarantees from mayors that there would "never be wind turbines on the territory of the MRC."
In Mauricie, citizens are speaking out against the wind farm project and denouncing the sale of Quebec at a discount to the private sector. The planned 800 megawatt wind farm with 130 wind turbines covering 70 hectares would be one of the most powerful in Quebec.
On September 24, Quebeckers learned that the Saint-Paul-de-Montminy Wind Farm project in the Montmagny region, promoted by Kruger Energy, had taken a new step towards its realization. The Régie de l'énergie du Québec (RDE) ratified the agreement reached with Hydro-Québec, which is in the process of being privatized, in order to materialize this development.
The Fraud of Social Acceptability
In response to the growing demand from communities for decision-making power over the use of natural resources, the debate in the National Assembly has been reduced to a question of "social acceptability." This concept is in total contradiction with what the communities are demanding, which is the power to decide what affects their lives; not to be presented with a fait accompli. The government has produced a totally infantilizing video that shows "social acceptability" to be a question of good communication and good behaviour between the promoters of a project and citizens.[1] This project is already underway before citizens have even had a say in it. For the government it is just a matter of getting it through.
The collapse of the Northvolt company, in which the Quebec government has invested hundreds of millions of dollars, is being muted as much as possible. Meanwhile the government continues its sell-off of natural resources for the benefit of foreign interests and the U.S. war machine. The cartel parties are up in arms, but the sell-off continues.
Two Major Bills in Progress
On October 2, the National Assembly adopted the principle of Bill 63, An Act to amend the Mining Act and other provisions. The Minister of Natural Resources and Forests and the Cabinet ignored the recommendations made to put an end to this mining speculation on Quebec lands. The government plans to block by law all initiatives by citizens to stake claims to their lands to prevent them from falling into the hands of speculators. The government wants to circumvent this citizen effort by requiring that excavation work be done immediately after a claim is reserved.
The National Assembly on October 2 adopted the principle of Bill 69 -- An Act to ensure the responsible governance of energy resources and to amend various legislative provisions on October 2 -- first presented by former Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon and taken up by his replacement Christine Fréchette. Since its introduction, Bill 69 has sparked many reactions and objections, because it opens the door to the increased privatization of Hydro-Québec's assets. The Crown corporation will guarantee private companies a rate for the electricity they produce. The bill will also introduce dynamic pricing for residential electricity starting in April 2026.
For a Nation-Building Project that Unites All Those Who Live in Quebec
There is a strong contradiction between the demands and claims of the people of Quebec and its communities and the agenda of the anti-social offensive pursued by the government and the National Assembly. What is happening in the National Assembly underlines the urgency for democratic renewal. This puts on the agenda the need to raise the level of political discourse by calling on workers, women and young people to set an example themselves. Workers must not allow politics to be debased nor abandoned out of disgust.
Let us not accept this abject circus carried out at our expense. The ruling class must not have free rein to engage in its criminal activities. The struggle for democratic renewal to modernize the political process, for the people of Quebec to speak in their own name and give themselves the power to decide on issues related to the economy, sovereignty, war and peace, and to protect the fraternal unity of the people of Quebec is the change needed to do so.
Let us together with our peers discuss the challenges that arise, occupy the space for change and speak in our own name.
Note
1. To see the video click here.
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 11 - November 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/M5401115.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca