Louise Beaudoin has been at the forefront of Quebec’s sovereignty movement for over 40 years. As a cabinet minister in three Parti Québécois governments, she was largely responsible for the province’s language laws. Now, as a Montreal-area MNA, she is one of the main architects of the party’s new “plan for a sovereign Quebec,” which would use “sectoral referendums” in order to wrestle powers like taxation and culture away from Ottawa.
Q: Tell me about the PQ’s latest plan for a sovereign Quebec.
A: We thought it was time to remobilize the sovereignist troops and relaunch the sovereignty debate. We want to do away with the waiting game. It’s nice to say that we are going to wait for that big night where everything falls into place, but we know this won’t magically happen. So the best way to reignite the debate is this plan that [PQ leader] Pauline Marois has presented. We want to be transparent in what we are doing and what we want. The first thing, of course, is for Ottawa to respect the constitution of 1867, that is to say Quebec’s powers, as well as those that are shared with the federal government, as well as to reclaim certain powers that we think are necessary for Quebec’s development.
Q: In concrete terms, how do you arrive at getting these powers for Quebec?
A: We’ve already started. A year and a half ago we put forward our proposed law on Quebec identity and citizenship. When we get into power we will reintroduce this bill.
Q: You are talking about how the PQ would make it mandatory for anyone running for office to speak French?
A: Yes. We’ll present that part of it as it is, but it’s negotiable. What is sure, though, is that in the next election, if the Parti Québécois wins, both the identity bill and the PQ’s new sovereignty initiative will be front and centre. We will also introduce a new Bill 101, because we believe that it has been very good as far as obliging the children of immigrants to go to French school until the age of 16. But we have to work on Quebec’s businesses. It isn’t worth it for an immigrant from, say, Pakistan, to learn French if he doesn’t need it. And this is more and more the case, especially in Montreal.
Q: This would involves applying Bill 101 to businesses with 50 employees or less. But even Camille Laurin, the father of Bill 101, recognized that this would be nearly impossible on a bureaucratic level to enforce.
A: I think there are ways of doing it.
Q: What can you do?
A: Look, the Journal de Montréal did many investigations, and found that it is easier to be served in English than in French in many places in Montreal. This isn’t acceptable. If Dr. Laurin was still with us, and saw the drift away from French, I’m sure he would be 100 per cent in favour of this. French must be learned inside the walls of every small business, with the blessing of the owner and the managers. The first reflex for an immigrant, and it’s very understandable, isn’t to learn French, it’s to find a job. So you have to make him learn French while, not after, he is working. That is the future of ‘Frenchification’ in Quebec in small- and medium-sized business. It’s the best way to ensure that French is made useful and necessary in the workplace. And under our new Bill 101, the PQ will mandate that immigrants will receive all of their governmental correspondence in French after three years.
Q: It’s an awful lot to say that he must find a job and learn French within three years or else . . .
A: It’s not or else. All we’re saying is that after three years they will receive their government correspondence in French. If they have a problem with reading it, they can call us and we’ll help. But at some point you have to put your foot down. If you are in Italy, you speak Italian. We will inscribe the predominance of the French language in Quebec’s charter.
Q: We’ve had a lot of plans for a sovereign Quebec . . .
A: Yeah, and if one of them had worked we’d be independent today.
Q: Why are Quebecers so apathetic about the idea?
A: I don’t know. I’m not sure they are apathetic, though. The polls say that there are “only” 40 per cent of Quebecers who are favourable to sovereignty right now, but I find that number huge.
Q: But 75 per cent of Quebecers don’t think sovereignty is ever going to happen.
A: I’m trying to find ways to convince them. What we are saying is we are going to do concrete things to get there, to show why sovereignty is necessary.
Q: But it’s been years that you’ve been trying this. This isn’t anything new.
A: Why would I stop? It’s such a lovely road. I was elected to do this.
