Quebec: A Good Neighbour in Transition: Difference between revisions

Exactly two months ago, a new government assumed power in [[Québec]].

This government was born of a young political party which had gained strength during the tow previous elections, with a political sovereignty for Québec as its prime objective. Although we at home could see such a result shaping up over the last few years, it naturally aroused interest and curiosity beyond our borders, not unmixed with some anxiety and even some hostility in certain quarters.

French Québec was born at the same time as the first American colonies. Its history is intimately linked with that of the thirteen states which, after a hundred and fifty years of imperial rule, decided to form the [[United States of America]].

Our ancestors, among the greatest of discoverers, missionaries and... fur-traders, were the first white men to explore North America as far as the [[Rocky Mountains]] and [[Louisiana]]. [[Detroit]], [[New Orleans]] and [[Milwaukee]] were founded by Quebecers. About 1830, Missouri was still French-speaking. It was the son of a Montrealer, [[John Charles Frémont]], who commanded the troops that conquered [[California]] in 1846, and then became governor of that state. Later, owing to difficult economic conditions in the North, several thousands "Québécois" settled in your vast country, mainly in [[New England]]. So, from the beginning, we have always shared with you a taste for new frontiers, a thirst for open spaces, and a drive to overcome obstacles, even to meet sometimes quasi-impossible challenges, and  thus to create our own new way of life.

In fact, similarities must have been pretty obvious, since Québec was invited to join the American Union two centuries ago, and consequently, we also could very well have taken part in the [[Bicentennial]] last year as one of the founding states! And I know for a fact that while you were celebrating, quite a few Quebecers were feeling nostalgic; for, like you, we believe we are a nation. With all the essential requirements: a clearly defined territory, our own history, a common language and culture, a collective will to live together and maintain a national identity.

Now, almost exactly two hundred years after its neighbour to the south, Québec too is making up its mind about how to set in motion the process leading to independence.

And I can find nothing more striking, by the way, than the many analogies between the psychological climate felt in Québec today, and that portrayed in many publications describing the American atmosphere of two hundred years ago. At that time, many people in the thirteen colonies were far from convinced of the merits of independence. In 1775, the delegates to the [[Continental Congress]] in [[Philadelphia]] were greatly reluctant to break with [[Great Britain]]. There were those who prophesied all kinds of economic disasters, with a sharp drop in investments, and the fatal collapse of any new currency... But independence was so obviously indicated by geography, by history and the dynamic nature of the people, and by obsolete institutions, that it became a fact, expressed in such simple yet profound words that no "Québécois" can read them without feeling a certain emotion:

{{Quote doc|When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.}}

I could easily have opened my address with that opening sentence of the [[Declaration of Independence]], because it describes so very well the feelings I come with, in this world capital of [[New York]], to try and explain Québec and "declare the causes".

Some fifteen years before the [[American Revolution]], the French colony of Québec was conquered by British troops. That conquest deprived our society of a great many of its elite, who went back to France, and it turned over our political and economic life to foreign leadership. The small "Québécois" community immediately became a very delicate plant, tenuously rooted in an alien and not always hospitable environment. Every effort had to be made to ensure its protection and even its survival. So the Québec people instinctively retreated into their shells. And then it would take some twelve generations to bring us to the threshold of national maturity. Of all the European  groups who settled in America in the Seventeenth Century — French, Spanish, Portuguese and British — only the French have not yet attained full political autonomy.

And as for labeling our program, if it's necessary, we can call it "[[social democratic]]". Social democratic parties have been, or are presently in power in several western countries of some importance, like [[Sweden]], Great Britain, [[West Germany]], and also in certain Canadian provinces.

Our program also involves the implementation of several new measures, on which we made formal and carefully selected commitments during the last election campaign. These commitments require little extra spending and will be applied gradually. In fact, this is how we intend to act in all areas. The economic and financial situation in Ouébec and in most western countries is especially difficult. As I was telling the students of the [[University of Montreal]] a few days ago, Québec must learn to live within its means.

On this point, many of you are certainly aware that [[Hydro-Québec]] is in the midst of vast development projects on our great northern rivers. In this age of energy shortages, nothing could he more indicated than a special effort to fully develop all of our yet untapped resources in the hydro-electric field. Since, as Minister of Natural Resources, some years ago, I was closely and personally involved in the creation of Hydro-Québec as we know it today, I am pleased to observe that the financial community recognizes the high competence of our great utility's management and has never failed no provide financial backing for its projects. And I am confident that this well-deserved support will continue in the future.