Bill 61: Use of Pandemic and Restart of Economy to Strengthen Arbitrary Powers of the StateThe Legault government on June 3 tabled Quebec Bill 61 -- An Act to restart Quebec's economy and to mitigate the consequences of the public health emergency declared on 13 March 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill's stated aim is to mitigate the consequences of the public health emergency by fast-tracking for two years the construction of 202 public infrastructure projects such as schools, seniors' residences, road work and public transit. The bill gives the government the option to decree the building of additional public or private projects. Quebec Premier François Legault said the powers of the bill, which have been widely denounced as arbitrary, are critical to re-launching the Quebec economy after weeks of pandemic-induced shutdowns. As a whole, the bill is an attempt to use the pandemic and reopening of the economy as a pretext to strengthen the arbitrary powers of the state and further deprive working people of any say whatsoever on matters of concern. It also further denies the National Assembly and its members any legislative power, as all decision-making power is concentrated in the hands of the ministers in the service of narrow private interests. Bill 61 grants the government the power to extend the public health emergency outside the Public Health Act and any oversight by the public and even members of the National Assembly.
In addition to the attack on public sector workers, Bill 61 grants all power to the government executive to cancel and violate existing laws and regulations under the hoax of speeding up the reopening of the economy. Bill 61 allows the government executive to violate legal provisions in the Public Health Act, the Environment Quality Act, the Expropriation Act, and the Act Respecting Contracting by Public Bodies and in addition gives immunity from prosecution to government ministers and others using the bill's provisions. Bill 61 in effect grants the executive the power to eliminate at will environmental regulations, regulations regarding expropriation of the property of individuals for economic projects, and regulations regarding the awarding of public contracts to private companies to build public infrastructure projects along with immunity from prosecution for wrongdoings. This grab for greater executive power must not be allowed! A crisis such as the pandemic must not be used to attack the people, violate their rights and shut them out even more violently from the decision-making power. Working people must assess what is going on and step up their fight for empowerment so that the problems caused by the pandemic can be resolved in their favour, not that of the rich. The pandemic shows that a new direction of the economy is necessary, a direction decided by working people and under their control. The people demand this regressive bill be withdrawn immediately. Those who have tabled this anti-worker and anti-social bill and are pushing for its passage to give the government executive even greater arbitrary powers must be declared unfit to rule and removed from public office. Quebec Government's Manoeuvring to Push Through Bill 61Bill 61 was introduced a mere nine days before the official day of adjournment of the Quebec National Assembly on June 12. Premier François Legault, then President of the Treasury Board Christian Dubé and other spokespersons of the Cabinet arrogantly demanded that the bill be hurriedly passed before adjournment. Even though the Legault government holds a majority of seats in the National Assembly, the bill required the unanimous consent of all three opposition parties and the independent members of the National Assembly for the principle of the bill to be adopted and allowed immediately to go into committee and subsequent readings. A procedural rule in the National Assembly requires unanimous consent when a bill is introduced after mid-May before the summer adjournment. In an effort to gain the unanimous consent of the members of the National Assembly, the Legault government tabled 18 amendments the day before the summer adjournment. Legault's effort to "soften" the bill failed to win the unanimous consent needed to rush the bill through in principle. The opposition of the people to Bill 61 outside the National Assembly was so intense many commentators said it would have been suicidal for the other parties and members to agree to this manoeuvre of the Legault government. It is likely that when the National Assembly reconvenes in September the Legault government will use its majority of seats to adopt the bill in principle despite the people's mounting opposition to it.
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The declaration of
a public health emergency on March 13 gave
arbitrary power to the government executive to
cancel all negotiated agreements with health care
and social service workers. The executive has used
the power to unilaterally change public sector
working conditions. The indefinite extension of
this arbitrary power is a big attack on workers
and their rights and must not pass!