«Only the Quebec Liberal Party can handle the problems of today with resolute confidence. This confidence is based on our own specific values. »
Claude Ryan, 2003 |
| What is a Liberal Outlook? |
| We are Liberals because we put into practice the attitudes and behaviour typifying the Liberal outlook. These traits are, in particular, openness to values of change and progress;a deep-running commitment to the values of freedom, justice, and democracy; and recognition of the importance of a public debate of issues and of transparency in the administration of public affairs. |
With the adoption in 1975 of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms by the government of Robert Bourassa, the commitment of the Liberal Party to individual freedoms was translated into its fullest, most durable and impact-producing form. The Charter enjoys a quasi-constitutional status—that is, it is a piece of legislation whose scope extends further than the other laws governing our society.
The QLP was the main architect of changes that have led to the recognition of the quality of men and women in Quebec society. In 1940, Adélard Godbout set aside objections from the Church and gave women the right to vote. Later, under Jean Lesage and Robert Bourassa, the equality of men and women’s marital rights and responsibilities was set out in the Civil Code. A Liberal government-sponsored law also affirmed the equality of spouses’ rights in the division of acquest (acquired property) upon the dissolution of marriage. More recently, the Liberal Party was the first party to include in its program the recognition of unions between persons of the same sex for civil purposes. The Liberal Party was the principal architect of the changes that led to the recognition of the equalityof men and women in Quebec society. |
| Identification with Quebec |
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While being a federalist party, the QLP has clearly identified itself with the expectations and needs of the Quebec people. Above all, it has attempted to translate these needs and expectations into constructive proposals centred on the interest of Quebec and its citizens. This effort to root the party in the deepest aspirations of Quebecers has given rise to expressions such as the “state of Quebec,” “distinct society,” “special status,” “optingout,” and “renewed federalism”—all of which have become a part of current political vocabulary.
The Liberal Party has recognized the specific stamp that its French-speaking majority has given to Quebec society and has committed to constantly asserting and defending the French character of Quebec. It has done so by making French the official language of Quebec, by promoting its growth in all sectors of our society, including the economy, where dynamic, confident francophone leaders now hold positions of leadership.
In October 2003, our Premier, Jean Charest, introduced a motion in the National Assembly whereby members of the National Assembly unanimously reasserted that Quebec forms a people. |
In the early 1960s, the government of Jean Lesage nationalized 11 private hydroelectric companies and integrated them into the Hydro-Québec network, founded the Quebec Economic Advisory Council and the Caisse de dépôt et placement, modernized public transportation infrastructures, and reorganized government departments having an economic mission. Numerous government corporations were set up with a view to creating instruments of development in sectors deemed to be crucial. Upon his election as Leader of the Liberal Party in 1970, Robert Bourassa launched his first campaign with a pledge to create 100,000 jobs. In the view of many, this promise appeared quite audacious, but by the time he declared general elections in the third year of his first term of office, more than 100,000 had indeed been created. With this pledge, Robert Bourassa wanted to show the vital priority he assigned to economic development. This focus on the economy was a salient feature of his four terms of office.
So as to enable economic development to proceed under the best conditions possible, the Liberal Party adopted several laws designed to structure the activities of companies, both public and private, over several decades’ time.
For instance, companies are obliged to deal with their employees in an attitude of respect. Under the legislation adopted by Liberal governments, every employer is required to provide his or her employees minimum working conditions, including a minimum wage established by government regulation. Employers must also accept, under threat of penalty, that their employees may exercise their right to freely negotiate their working conditions through unions, in the absence of any constraint or threat.
Beginning in 1972, the QLP gave Quebec its first environmental protection law. |
Thanks primarily to the influence of the Liberal Party, everyone in Quebec is protected from all forms of discrimination, is entitled to free healthcare services, free primary, secondary, and college-level studies, last recourse financial assistance, post-secondary education financial assistance, various housing support measures, and insured retirement income.
Healthcare has always been a priority for the QLP. Hospitalization insurance, brought in by Jean Lesage in 1962, and health insurance, introduced by Robert Bourassa in 1970, with the financial contribution of the federal government in both cases, put an end to the system whereby only the wealthy were covered. Healthcare thus became a public service in Quebec.
In addition, two basic income security measures were authored by Liberal governments: the Régime des rentes du Québec (RRQ, also known as the Quebec Pension Plan) and the Régime de soutien du revenu à l’intention des personnes et ménages démunis (income support system).
Thus, since 1960, succeeding Liberal governments have devoted special attention to family support. During the back-to-back terms of office starting in 1985 and 1989, the Bourassa government made good on its conviction that the family is the prime nucleus of all solid, lasting social development by significantly lightening the fiscal burden of families, implementing the non-refundable tax credit for dependant children and childbirth grants, which, over a period of five years, helped increase Quebec’s birth rate, and promoted the development of childcare services.
In September 1998, Jean Charest reasserted that “in social matters, the basic principle laid down by Liberals allows for no misunderstanding. Economic growth should not occur at expense of the most disadvantaged members of society.” |
| Respect for Civil Society |
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The municipalities and school boards offer a good example of the manner in which the Liberal Party conceives of the relationship between government and civil society. From a strictly legal point of view, municipalities and school boards are the creations of the National Assembly. Theoretically, the government may act toward them as it sees fit. This strictly legal definition of municipalities and school boards nevertheless disregards another, no less important aspect of their nature: while such organizations derive their existence and legal authority from the National Assembly, their leaders have nevertheless been given their mandate by the public. These organizations are thus genuine political institutions and not merely the branches or administrative offices of the government. In two specific cases occurring in the 1990s, the Bourassa government transferred to the municipalities and the school boards responsibilities that had been shouldered by the government until then. In each case, the transfer of responsibilities was accompanied by a transfer in additional sources of revenue as well.
A government concerned with effective, lasting results must strive to establish collaborative relationships with civil society organizations and to make them partners of its actions. With this objective in mind, Liberal governments have created numerous organizations, including the Conseil supérieur de l’éducation (formerly known as the Superior Council of Education), the Conseil des arts et lettres, the Conseil du statut de la femme, the Conseil des communautés culturelles et de l’immigration du Québec, the Conseil permanent de la jeunesse, etc. |
| Democracy a Hallmark of Political Action |
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Prior to the 1960 elections, the Liberal Party had pledged to launch an inquiry into the administrative practices of the Union Nationale government. This investigation was completed and it found that an elaborate system of fraudulent financial arrangements to support the party in power, including kickbacks paid by companies receiving government contracts, had existed for many years. The Liberal Party also promised to reform the election process so that all parties were treated on equal footing, that return officers were held accountable for their conduct before the court, that election expenses were limited and controlled, and that people could not fraudulently vote for others on election day.
Many of these reforms were implemented in the first term of the Lesage government. Other reforms, including granting the right to vote to people at age 18 and reform of the electoral map, were concluded in subsequent years.
Jean Lesage believed it imperative to extend the role of the government into numerous sectors. His first initiative was to give Quebec a competent, honest, and impartial public service. Public servants were also authorized to form unions. Today, the government is able to manage the affairs of state and rely on an administrative apparat us of high quality.
The judicial branch has also been the focus of the Liberal Party’s attention. The presence of judges who are competent, honest, and independent of political authorities is an essential component of a democratic society, in its view. In the courts under Quebec’s jurisdiction, Liberal governments have seen to it that judges work under conditions assuring their competency, integrity, impartiality, and professional autonomy.
Administrative justice has also made major progress under Liberal governments, thus giving the public procedures for resolving conflicts that work faster and that are less expensive than the usual civil trials. |
| Intergenerational equity |
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This liberal value was added to the seven others at the 29th Members’ Convention in November of 2004. The amendment stemmed from debates at the 2004 Youth Convention and from the QLP Policy Commission's work on the policy document "Building a better quality of life for Quebec". The Youth Commission proposed to modify the QLP’s Constitution to include the intergenerational concept.
In the process of studying the new challenges now before us, we thought it important to confirm another Liberal value that is certain to guide us foward – that of intergenerational equity. From this day on, the QLP has the duty, in all its undertakings, to build more capacity, among each generation, to take up the specific challenges it is faced with. This, for the QLP, constitutes truly sustainable development.
Claude Ryan says in his essay: “It is up to the current generation of Liberal Party members to translate these values into a political vision capable of responding to the challenges of the 21st century.” With this new Liberal Value, the Quebec Liberal Party took action. |
Those who like to repeat that the Quebec Liberal Party is beholden to the Liberal Party of Canada in constitutional matters either disregard the facts or are speaking in bad faith. The reality is entirely opposite. The Quebec Liberal Party has continually defended and promoted the interests of Quebec within the Canadian federation over the last half-century. It has spearheaded most of the gains obtained by Quebec in this connection.
On the subject of constitution gains, one good example is the inclusion, in the Constitution Act of 1982, of a provision guaranteeing the right of each province to opt out of any constitutional amendment that calls for the transfer of a provincial jurisdiction to the Federal Parliament (art. 38.3 and 40.). It is also worth noting the inclusion, in the same law, of an additional provision stipulating that a province that opts out of a constitutional amendment entailing a transfer of provincial legislative jurisdictions to the federal parliament “in education or other cultural matters” will be entitled to a fair financial compensation from the Federal Parliament (art. 39.2).
The QLP has also been the proponent of several other legislative or administrative amendments enabling Quebec to assert its interests and exercise its prerogatives. One example is the adoption by the Federal Parliament in 1995 of an act requiring it to obtainthe prior consent of Quebec before introducing any proposal to amend the Constitution. Another is the adoption of a motion by the Federal Parliament requiring it and its organizations to take into account the distinct character of Quebec in the application of federal legislation and programs in Québec.
The signing of the Gagnon-Tremblay/McDougall agreement on immigration and integration was another important milestone in the affirmation of Quebec’s distinct character.
One way or another, Quebec governments have had to deal with Federal initiatives thatcalled into question the balance of power within the federation. Each time these issues have been raised, the Liberal Party has sought to defend the legitimate interests of Quebec. In 1964, under Jean Lesage, it rejected a proposal for a pension plan submitted by the Federal government, and succeeded in having the rest of Canada accept a plan that was designed and put forward by Quebec. It also obtained a constitutional amendment confirming the preponderant jurisdiction of the provinces in pension matters. In 1970, under Robert Bourassa, it refused to endorse the Victoria Charter because it did not respond to the proposals put forward by Quebec concerning the division of jurisdiction in areas of social policy.
In 1981, in extremely difficult circumstances, the Liberal Opposition in the National Assembly joined with the PQ government of that time to say no to the unilateral patriation of the Constitution that was being planned. In 1997, it opposed the reference to the Supreme Court by Ottawa on secession, arguing that the constitutional future of Quebec was above all a political question that must be resolved in Quebec. In 1998, it opposed Bill C-20, which imposed on Quebec rules that excessively restrained the province in the area of constitutional referendums. In 1999, it argued not against the principle of a social union, but against some of the centralizing provisions of the agreement signed by the Federal government, the territories, and the other provinces. In 2000, it opposed the creation of the Millennium Scholarships and, through negotiation, it helped find a solution acceptable for all parties in this dispute. In 2002, in a detailed brief made before the Séguin Commission, it called for a more equitable sharing of tax revenues between the Federal Parliament, the provinces, and the territories. |
«In light of the history of the past 50 years, it is fair to conclude that theLiberal Party, driven by the [seven] values it holds, was the main architect of modern Quebec on the political level. It engineered the changes thattransformed Quebec during the Quiet Revolution. »
Claude Ryan, 2003 |
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