By INGRID PERITZ
Thursday, October 20, 2005 Page A11
The Globe and Mail
A prominent group of Quebec federalists and sovereigntists, led by former premier Lucien Bouchard, set aside their differences yesterday to warn that Quebec is hurtling toward a major crisis unless it begins addressing profound social and economic ills.
The group issued a "manifesto," a bold and unsparing critique of where Quebec stands and where it is heading. The document takes direct aim at a long list of the province's "taboos" -- from its frozen university tuition to its powerful unions and the need for francophones to master English to compete in the world economy.
"At a certain point, we said to ourselves that citizens have to wake up," Mr. Bouchard said in an interview. "We're not in a crisis now, but there will be one if we continue as we are. We're facing an oncoming train. We have to react."
The document, For a clear-eyed vision of Québec, is unsparing in its assessment of Quebec's social, economic and even intellectual ills. It said Quebeckers have become resistant to change and are threatened with another "Grande Noiceur" -- the period under premier Maurice Duplessis when state and church authorities stifled debate.
"The outright rejection of change hurts Quebec because we run the risk of turning into a fossil from the twentieth century," said the document. The appeal echoed the historic Refus Global, a postwar manifesto signed by Quebec intellectuals that questioned the status quo and ushered in the Quiet Revolution, when the province underwent massive modernizations.
"This may not become a revolution," Mr. Bouchard said, "but it won't be quiet. Because all this won't be easy. It supposes that we accept major changes in Quebec."
Signatories said the threat to Quebec comes not just from the booming Asian economies, but also from the province's demographic decline.
By 2050, Quebec's population will grow by only 300,000, while the rest of North America's population explodes, it said.
"In 40 years, these 7.8 million Quebeckers will be engulfed by nearly 1.2 billion people, most of them English and Spanish speakers," the report said.
Other members of the group include former Quebec Liberal cabinet minister Guy St. Pierre, La Presse chief editorial writer André Pratte and high-profile movie producer Denise Robert.
Mr. Bouchard said he was prompted to act as a father of two boys, aged 14 and 15.
"If we do nothing, it's our children who will inherit the problem, and they'll have it tough," he said. "So we have a kind of duty."
He said the group has no political aspirations. Mr. Bouchard, whose formidable political skills almost led Quebec out of Canada in a referendum 10 years ago this month, is not planning a comeback.
"I do not wish to return to political life," he said. "I'm not facing the personal conditions to do so. And I've done my share. I'm acting as a citizen, and as a father."
The group's manifesto even tries to chart Quebec's future without favouring either sovereignty or federalism.
"Regardless of whether we become sovereigntist or remain federalist, these concerns will have to be resolved," Mr. Bouchard said. "I have wished, and still wish, to resolve the issue with a decision. But the decision hasn't been taken. We came close in 1995 [in the referendum]. But it doesn't mean we should paralyze everything else."
Earlier, at a news conference, the former premier bluntly set the sovereignty question aside: "If you're saying to me that we must achieve sovereignty first to settle this, that's not what I think."
The group challenged the generally admired "Quebec model," which favours state involvement in the economy.
"In financial terms, the Quebec government is like a bulky albatross that is unable to take flight, and our per capita public debt is the highest on the continent," the document says.
The group has posted its manifesto in English and French on a website, http://www.pourunquebeclucide.com/ and opened a discussion forum.