Sleeping with the enemy?

DANIEL McCABE | Just back from a tour of major American cities as part of a Quebec delegation headed by Premier Lucien Bouchard, Principal Bernard Shapiro found a stack of angry letters and phone messages waiting for him. It didn't surprise him. He knew his participation in the trip -- which was meant to build trade links and spur investment in Quebec by U.S. companies -- would draw complaints from some corners. Shapiro says the criticisms he received boil down to a common theme. "People say, 'How could you associate with that man?' "As a relatively credible anglophone, they think that when I work with a clearly separatist premier on a mission of this sort, I run the risk of being exploited." In other words, that Shapiro was Bouchard's "token anglo" whose presence on the trip helped deflect charges that the Parti Québécois's policies on sovereignty and language have had a devastating impact on Quebec's economy. That's certainly the way psychology professor Don Donderi sees things. Along with Equality Party leader Keith Henderson, Donderi followed the Quebec mission around as it met with political and business leaders and reporters in cities like Boston, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Donderi and Henderson tried to meet with the media in those cities to get across their own views about how the PQ's linguistic and sovereignist policies damage Quebec. At a press conference in Boston, Donderi took direct aim at Shapiro for his participation in the trip. "I think Bernard Shapiro has disgraced himself ... He is essentially prostituting the University." Contacted Tuesday, Donderi stands by his comments. "I absolutely think he should not have gone. He was accompanying the separatist premier of Quebec on a political trip designed to repair the image of Quebec in America where it has suffered because of the discriminatory language legislation and the separatist policies of the present government." By working with Bouchard on the mission, Donderi says Shapiro "has taken a political stand, even if silently, in supporting the activities of the premier in the United States and those activities were designed to whitewash the dreadful human rights record of this province." During a recent broadcast of CBC Radio's Radio Noon, some callers echoed Donderi's views. One called Shapiro "extraordinarily naive" for working with Bouchard. Shapiro, not surprisingly, sees things differently. "I believe that in a democratic society the person who gets legitimately elected is everybody's premier and not just the premier of the people who happen to choose to vote for him." The principal adds that Bouchard himself told American reporters several times that some of the people accompanying him on the mission didn't share the same political views as the PQ government. Shapiro argues that both federalists and separatists have a common interest in improving Quebec's economy. "If I could do anything to improve the economic climate in Quebec, I would do it," says Shapiro. "I would do it because I'm a Quebec citizen and because the University stands to benefit from that a great deal." "I have a much easier answer for improving the economic climate in Quebec," retorts Donderi. "It's one that Principal Shapiro can go and advertise himself. In fact, I'd love it if he did. The best way to improve Quebec's economic prospects, bar none, would be to scrap the entire idea of separation and to scrap all the discriminatory language laws that have been passed in Quebec." Government relations director Ginette Lamontagne stresses that Shapiro participated in the trip in his role as the head of CREPUQ, the organization that represents all Quebec universities, and as such, he was "duty-bound" to take part. Lamontagne professes herself "delighted" that Shapiro was part of the mission. "To have that kind of close access to the premier and to some of Quebec's top business leaders -- you can't pay to get that." "I've spoken to the premier before about higher education," says Shapiro. "I was looking for other opportunities to impress upon him and anyone else on the trip the threat to higher education posed by the constant budget cuts and tuition freezes. I talked about the threat to sustaining the quality of our universities over time should these cuts continue. "I accompanied the premier every afternoon to his press interview with the American journalists," says Shapiro. "I was the only member of the so-called ambassadors group who did so. That gave me lots of opportunities to add my own comments and to say how the situation [in Quebec] looked from my own point of view. "The journalists were not interested in Bernard Shapiro a lot. They were interested in Premier Bouchard, which is exactly who they should have been interested in. When I either differed from him or had something to add, I would say so." While Shapiro told reporters that Quebec has paid a price for the PQ's language policies and sovereignist aims, he also said that the situation wasn't entirely negative. Debate about the future of a society -- such as the one that has been sparked by the PQ's separatist aims -- can be beneficial too, Shapiro said. He also told reporters that some prospective faculty didn't mind the fact that their children would have to attend French schools if they stayed in Quebec for more than a brief period. "Because it's an opportunity to develop a side of their children that would otherwise be impossible. Not everybody feels that way. Some people, it turns off completely. "People were surprised, I think, when I said things like I don't feel oppressed in Quebec," relays Shapiro. "People were expecting me to say that I do feel oppressed, but the fact is I don't. Which isn't to say that other people don't feel that way." Summing up his experience on the mission, Shapiro says he has no regrets. "Although I recognize the awkwardness of the trip in many ways, I think it was a good thing to do and I'm glad to have done it."