Quebec:
Although most of the reports back from the Quebec leg of the trip will detail the vibrancy of the separatist/soverignist movement, which shocked many, my personal life (living with a Montrealer political-junkie) has made the contemporary political climate of Quebec more apparent to me than that of Ontario, of course until I started as an intern at Queen’s Park.
I found the most interesting insights from our meetings gleamed from the ‘outsiders’ of Québec city, the Anglophone journalists, who presented very a different perspective. One of our first meetings in the Legislative Assembly was with Rosemary Barton, a young CBC-TV journalist originally from Winnipeg. She sends numerous reports to the national CBC desks on many different issues in the province, but she is frustrated when her reports on provincial political issues are not properly contextualized, over-simplified or outright re-framed to the point of inaccuracy. This was the most interesting and salient moment for me; I found Barton’s grievance with her superiors to be telling of the overall misinformed status of the Canadian Anglophone population.
There was certainly a buzz in the air on the topic of the recent nomination of Andre Boisclair as the new leader of the Parti Quebecois. In numerous interviews, discussion surrounded Boisclair’s drug use, sexual fetishes and the possible video recordings/pictures that depict both, and outweighed any mention of his aptitude as a political leader or his political platform. Both journalists and politicians could not resist but to dwell on these salacious bits instead of delving deeper into the actual long-term implications of bringing on such a young & controversial figure as the leader of the PQ.
The scandal-fueled celebrity hype surrounding the Boisclair win is similar to the speedy rise to fame of ADQ leader Mario DuMont, which only dissolved after Quebecers turned up their noses to the right-leaning values of the party itself. Silvan Legare, an ADQ member in Vanier, hosted the group in his constituency office and spoke of the difficulties of having only 5 MNAs, primarily having only one question per day in the National Assembly. Legare was a champion of DuMont, calling him a visionary, and pointed to his original positions on private health care options and the ‘modernization’ of the state as influencing the contemporary political discourse.
One policy-driven topic was the status of daycare (les garderies) in the province. Both journalists and many Parti-Quebecois and ADQ members directly linked the low approval rating of the Liberal party to their most recent ‘screw up’ on this front. With unclear amendments to the act that governs early childhood education and fears that these amendments would lead to the possible ‘Walmartization’ of the program (meaning that the program would be opened up to chain-owned operations, and in turn, leave it susceptible to NAFTA regulations and possible American-owned companies) the PQ is practically salivating at the continued Liberal failures in this policy sector.
Overall, the most incredible moment was meeting Bernard Landry. It was his first time back to the NA since his departure, he was quite jovial (“My friend tells me that she likes visiting Quebec because it’s France without the French people and America without the Americans”) and open to discussing a variety of softball issues (lobbed by OLIPers) & hardball ones (responses to the Quebec interns’ questions were usually prefaced with a chortle and ‘soyez realiste’). Landry did a broad overview of federal provincial relations, from pre-Confederation days, ramping up to his well-oiled argument for sovereignty-association. I found that his assertion that the younger Quebecers have a ‘non resentment approach to sovereignty’ as being very accurate and the way in which he described it, he seemed ‘at peace’ with what he believes to be an inevitability.
Ottawa:
The Ottawa trip had a more toned-down feel, and after bouncing from meeting to meeting at a breakneck pace in Quebec City, it was a relief. We arrived at a time when the nation’s capital was in upheaval and even our federal intern counterparts were scattered chaotically (& illegally, I might add…) across the country. Our first meeting was with Marie-Andree-LaJoie, a Clerk Assistant who works on three committees, house proceedings and international affairs. It was interesting to compare her experience and work routine to those of the clerks at Queen’s Park. She emphasized the predicative role of the Committee system and how clerks can be adequately forewarned to policy changes in the House.
Although the city was missing 90% of their political population, we had a meeting with Don Boudria as he was riding into the sunset of his political career (& unmercifully plugging his autobiography). Besides his own delight at recounting the inspiration for his punny-titled bio, there were some salient points to pick up from his presentation and responses. Firstly, he is an unwavering Liberal despite his snub by Paul Martin. Secondly, this allegiance has clouded his logic so severely that he enthusiastically defends the Clarity Act and aggressively blames the NDP for the fall of the minority government.
Another political figure was available during this election campaign, a Nova Scotian Senator, Terry Mercer. Mercer had a background that was of particular interest to me: volunteering, fundraising, and the non-profit sector. He was an engaging speaker, a senator that made an effort to keep his communities up-to-date on policies and programs that could be of interest, as well as assisting the national non-profit-sector through the Association of Fundraising Professionals. After winning me over with his tales of lecturing on ethical fundraising and mentoring to small charities, Mercer admitted to being an ‘open’ Liberal senator, and couldn’t resist bragging about a 10,000 name rolodex amassed over years of campaign work. The Senator stereotype remains alive and well in Ottawa.
A less-surreal-than-expected visit occurred after overcoming the security hurdles and entering the American Embassy. John Dickson was eager to speak to the group about our perceptions of the US, and how we imagine Americans to perceive Canada. He asked the group to write our first thoughts on these subjects and then compared our lists to previous visitors. Bringing up softwood lumber was not the landmine one would expect, the Deputy Ambassador downplayed the entire feud, remaking that this commodity is only 3% of the total trade between the two countries. Truth be told, Dickson seemed genuinely surprised that a pack of young interns was willing to enter his fortress to speak to him, and often preferred to tell tales of his previous postings in the foreign service….which were, predictably, far more interesting than his ventures into Canada.
From capitalist behemoth to grassroots membership-driven NPO: the Council of Canadians accurately demonstrated other side of the spectrum in Ottawa. After meeting with secure Hill residents (Senators), an Ambassador, and a government consultant (Sussex Circle), it was apparent that a huge variety of interests jockey daily for political influence and media attention. Gibb-Carsley outlined the evolution of the CoC (their rallying issue was NAFTA) and book ended the organization’s history with a recent refocusing on ‘deep integration,’ which is the NAFTA of the 21st century. Their recently published report on Deep Integration was not met with the press coverage expected, she lamented that many writers are discouraged from reporting on their group’s work by major-daily editors. The group’s work has changed significantly in the past couple of years, which can be part of the reason why they are not as relevant for major media outlets. Infamous street protests and prop-gimmick photo opportunities are fewer since post-Quebec City & 9/11 policing practices have clamped down demonstrations altogether.
