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IS IT OVER? PLUS |
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"From the editor's desktop" by William Watson Sorry, the summary of this article is not available. "We must break this vicious circle" by Alain Dubuc After 40 years, Quebec's politics have reached a stalemate. Separatists are wed to a political option Quebecers don't want. Federalists continue to invent constitutional reconciliations in which the rest of the country has no interest. Elsewhere, the world is getting on with the 21st century. If Quebec is not to be left behind, Quebecers must turn the page on the national question. In fact, the crucial battle-that for survival- has been won. Quebecers should hold their own debate on whether they are a people, a nation or something in between, declare that question closed, and then turn to their next national project: success-in education, in culture, and in the new economy, all of which are within Quebec's constitutional competence. "Is separatism dead? Not quite yet" by Gilles Gagné and Simon Langlois Whether in a referendum or an ordinary election, most people vote the way they do for perfectly good reasons, usually having to do with the "social space" they inhabit. The authors use this idea to divide Quebec's voting population into a number of different types, each with its own reasons for voting for or against Quebec sovereignty. The approach yields interesting results: The Yes side lost the 1995 referendum, not because of "money and ethnic votes," but because francophones 55 years of age and older turned to the No side in the referendum campaign's final days. Similarly, sovereignty's recent sag in the polls is mainly a result of its declining popularity in the social group that has always been its main custodian: francophone workers making more than $20,000 a year, and students. The sag's timing suggests, however, that it may be mainly a protest against the tough economic polices enacted by the Bouchard government in the second half of 1999. A rebound in support should not be ruled out. "20 years of the Quebec question in Policy Options" This year marks Policy Options' 20th anniversary. To celebrate we are running excerpts from the archives. In this issue, to accompany our cover story, we feature past analysis of and recommendations for the constitutional question, with contributions by Christian Dufour, Joe Clark, Stéphane Dion, Robert Stanfield, Tom Kent, Will Kymlicka, William Henry Pope, Richard Hamilton and Maurice Pinard, and Claude Morin. "For a United Nations that can prevent deadly conflict" by Peter Langille The United Nations should take a more active and aggressive role in stopping large-scale human rights abuses before they begin. A standing UN emergency intervention force would help make that possible. Partly due to Canada's efforts, the groundwork for such a force has already been laid. Our own military assets, which have been modernized in recent years, point to a contribution of Canadian Land Forces and possibly transportation. Further improvements in organization, co-ordination and commitment are necessary if a UN force is to become a reality. But once the necessary political will has been found, these should not prove impossible. "'Hydro One' should pay market rates for its capital" by Andrew Kosnaski If, in establishing the rate of return on capital to be allowed Hydro One (formerly the Ontario Hydro Services Corporation), the Ontario Energy Board aims too low, then in effect Ontario taxpayers will be subsidizing Ontario electricity users. This may sound like a wash, but not all taxpayers use the same amount of electricity, or pay the same price for it. And if the rate is too low, Hydro One may invest in too much capacity-and fetch too low a price should the province ultimately decide to sell its stake in the industry. A comparison with the rates of return allowed in the United States suggests that in fact Hydro One's allowed rate of return is too low. "Corporatisme québécois et Sommet de la jeunesse : Réplique aux insatisfaits" by Eric Montpetit Arguing that it was a corporatist trap, a number of youth groups boycotted last February's Quebec government summit on youth. Because of the European experience of the 1930s, corporatism has a bad name. In fact, it can be a useful way of reconciling society's divergent interests, and need not deteriorate into the government either co-opting social interests or pandering to them. Quebec uses corporatism more than most North American jurisdictions, often to its advantage. The youth summit probably directed greater attention to youth problems than would have taken place under a different form of social organization. "Preston Manning and the question of leadership" by John Hare The qualities today's electorate apparently seeks in a leader-that above all he be unthreatening and "likeable"-are not the traditional qualities of leadership, namely, intellect, wisdom, eloquence, a surpassing ability to explain why changes are necessary, and the authority and determination to make them happen. The Canadian politician who most obviously embodies such qualities is Preston Manning, who nevertheless remains deeply disliked by the electorate. In a system that had greater respect for hierarchy, Mr. Manning would do better. But in the system we have, leadership is not truly valued. "Lessons from the HRDC scandal" by Rick Szostak The recent scandal over mismanagement of the Canada Jobs Fund should not cause despair over jobs programs. Such programs need to be reformed, however. We should provide training for the chronically unemployed and public works projects for the cyclically unemployed. Members of Parliament should have no role in determining who gets which jobs or grants, though they could help construct a list of public works projects for their ridings, to be kept in reserve for an economic downturn. |
