Former Quebec Liberal party leader Claude Ryan and former Ontario premier David Peterson PHOTO: OWEN EGAN

Liberals face future

SYLVAIN COMEAU | Constitutional talk, economic concerns and Parti Québécois bashing dominated a panel discussion on the future of the Quebec Liberal Party last Thursday. The discussion, which was broadcast on CBC Radio One, proceeded on the assumption that Jean Charest has already locked up the party leadership. "One of the reasons Quebecers are really enchanted with Charest is that they believe he has influence in the rest of Canada," CBC host Dave Bronstetter said early in the panel, referring to the results of a recent Le Devoir poll. "How will Charest fare when he goes out into the rest of the country with Quebec Liberal policies?" Bronstetter asked former Ontario premier David Peterson. "Charest's advantage now is that he is extremely well respected as an individual in the rest of the country," replied Peterson. "If and when he wins a Quebec election... when he says, 'Here's what we have to do to keep this country together,' I think people would listen very carefully. "No politician's credibility lasts forever, but he certainly has it now, and I think it would be put to good purpose." But Eric Maldoff, a Montreal lawyer and founding president of Alliance Quebec, argued that Charest should not put the spotlight on the constitutional morass. "If the Liberal Party of Quebec and Charest make this a key issue going into or coming out of the election, we're going to have a very depressed Quebec electorate...I think that there is a very profound feeling in Quebec that somehow we have to move on. We've debated ourselves into the ground." Monique Jérome-Forget of the Institute for Research on Public Policy argued that the country is ready to make peace after crossing swords with the PQ. "I think there is a mood for reconciliation in Quebec, and in the rest of Canada. The periodic confrontations (over Quebec sovereignty) are not the flavour of the month." Marc-André Blanchard, president of the Quebec Liberals' policy commission, said the party's position paper, released last March, reaches out to Quebec aspirations in a way that he believes other Canadians can accept. "Our position paper makes it clear that Quebec is a full partner in Canada, and we can make it work. We think Quebec is strengthened by being in Canada, but that recognition of Quebec as a distinct society is a necessity. When we wrote it, our goal was to convince Quebecers that it's worthwhile to be in Canada, but we also wanted the rest of Canada to look at it and understand why we are going in that direction." Part one of Proposal 67 in the paper calls for: "the inclusion in the Canadian constitution of an interpretive clause recognizing the distinct character of Quebec society and confirming the role of the National Assembly in the area of the protection and promotion of the French fact in Quebec." Bronstetter next moved the discussion to the issue of the economy. He noted that there are signs of growth in Montreal, "but this is one of the most impoverished cities in North America...and youth unemployment is over 20 per cent in Quebec." He asked Jérome-Forget what the Liberals can do to make Quebec's economy work. "The party would have to stick to a fiscal responsibility model, the way Mr. Bouchard has. It must also create jobs which are real ones, not government jobs -- which also means adhering to Bouchard's platform. And Charest must stick to the commitment he made while in the Conservative party: cutting taxes. Quebec taxes are much higher than Ontario's, and that is working against this province." Asked what the Liberals could do that is different from the PQ's cost-cutting, deficit reduction policies, Peterson quickly answered: "[The party can] provide political stability. You can fiddle around with tax rates, but [the strength of the economy] always comes back to the political question. "Speaking as an Ontario resident, the best thing that ever happened to Toronto and Ontario was the political instability in Quebec. Everyone moved to Ontario, and they built Toronto, which has been one of the fastest growing, affluent cities in North America for the past 20 or 30 years. We owe Quebecers thanks; I'm here to thank you all," he said, to uneasy laughter from the audience. "I honestly believe that this would not have been the case if there had been some degree of political stability in Quebec." Former Liberal Party leader Claude Ryan defended the PQ's record on unemployment, saying that it is little different from that of his own party, but attacked the PQ's social spending cuts. "Bouchard has saved a lot [of money] on the backs of the poor," said Ryan, who is working on a report on Quebec poverty for the Liberals. "People on social assistance have been treated as second class citizens; their payments, unlike salaries and pensions, have not been adjusted to the cost of living for the past five years. Schools operating in impoverished districts have seen sharp cuts in services. "Bouchard's goal is a zero deficit by the year 2000, but the results of that policy are disastrous." Maldoff said that governments have a choice: to pave the way for economic growth or to get in the way. "Governments don't get out and create jobs; they can create conditions which allow economies to grow, or they can create conditions which damage the economy. We have a government which has inflicted serious damage on the economy. The big difference with Mr. Charest is that I think he is capable of building a consensus, in this province, around the idea that the priority is the economy." According to Maldoff, that consensus can be built around Canada's growing economic comeback. "Years ago, everyone was saying that Canada was bankrupt, so why be a part of it anyway? But now, Charest could get Quebecers to look at Canada, which is economically strong, and say, 'I'm going to get us connected into that; we're going to be a part of it.' He can accomplish a lot if he can mobilize that sentiment." The panel discussion was presented by the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada and CBC Radio One, 88.5 FM.