Bloc’s Ouellet proposes ‘intellectual overhaul’

Leader says her program shows voters what independent Quebec would be like

While an internal crisis rocks the Bloc Québécois, its leader, Martine Ouellet, and her team are proposing a new program that would target an “intellectual overhaul” of the party.

The term “refondation” (“radical reform” or “overhaul” in English), used by Gilbert Paquette, a former Parti Québécois cabinet minister under René Lévesque and one of the thinkers who penned a document proposing the reform that was presented by Ouellet on Friday, is a nod to those who have suggested in recent days that the Bloc needs a complete overhaul, notably with a leadership race and a new program.

“Those of us on the committee hope this project, which will be discussed at all levels of the Bloc, will unite the Bloc around a project to carry out — and here you’ll allow me to offer a nod — an intellectual reform of the Bloc,” Paquette said at a press conference with Ouellet.

“That’s what we offer here. A project for an intellectual reform of the Bloc through a democratic debate that we’ll initiate.”

Ouellet, when asked about the call from a group that is criticizing her leadership to completely overhaul the party, offered little more than to say that anyone wanting to make proposals concerning the Bloc need only submit them to the party’s governing bodies, which will make the decisions through democratic debate.

“We’re asked so much,” Ouellet said. “What will (a future independent Quebec) look like? We’re starting to see what a future republic of Quebec will look like.”

The program, entitled “Pour faire du Québec une république,” shows voters what an independent Quebec would be like, she said.

For example, on the issue of secularism, it proposes to entrench in the future constitution of a Quebec nation the principle of state secularism.

It also calls for establishing clear measures to help organizations respond to requests for accommodation.

On the issue of language, the program calls for the constitution of a future Quebec nation to declare French the “only” official

We’re asked so much. What will (a future independent Quebec) look like? We’re starting to see what a future republic of Quebec will look like.

language, re-establish the spirit of Bill 101 and “re-establish” French as the language of the court system and public administration by, for example, declaring that justice must be delivered in French.

On the environmental front, the program proposes to invest $4.5 billion by 2030 to reduce the use of fossil fuels in industrial production and increase the use of renewable energy sources.

On education, the program calls for establishing free higher education and completing the daycare network using federal allocations for childcare.

The proposal, written by Paquette and political scientist Denis Monière, also includes an “initial constitution of the republic of Quebec” that would be in force during a transition period following a referendum victory for independence.