Tom Mulcair: Lessons in the Humility of Federal Elections

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François Legault told his newly elected MNAs in 2018 that the most important thing to remember is that they must remain humble, despite the scope of their landslide victory. It’s advice Legault himself should have taken into account during the federal general election.

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Despite Legault’s specific warning that voting for Trudeau would be against Quebec’s best interests, Quebecers did just that in proportions comparable to those who voted for the Bloc Québécois and with a similar number of seats.

Legault’s support for the Conservatives and the Bloc could have helped them save some seats, but it did not change the 2019 result.

Pollster Jean-Marc Léger noted that the Bloc had dropped one point per week throughout the campaign until the English-language television debate, which ended up providing it with providential boost in the polls.

The initial question of that debate was clearly skewed. By including the bloc’s leader, Yves-François Blanchet, in the category of people who do not recognize that Quebec (like any other jurisdiction) has a racism problem, the moderator unconsciously exposed her own prejudices.

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Many, if not most, Quebecers acknowledge this problem. Blanchet is one of them and, in fact, he is one of the few high-level politicians to do so. In my opinion, he deserves credit for it, not for lecturing. But it is as if “you are Québécois, ergo you must have prejudices” was not, in itself, an example of prejudice in its truest sense: to prejudge.

If someone thought that the “two solitudes” were a thing of the past, they should think again. More than ever, strong nationalist voices are saying that Quebec’s desire to contain immigration, despite a severe labor shortage, is the right path, as is restricting minority rights.

Bill 21 openly discriminates against religious minorities. All you have to do is read it to find out. There is a chapter on covering the face that clearly highlights Muslim women. We are the only jurisdiction in North America where a Sikh man cannot become a police officer because of his turban, a Muslim woman cannot become a teacher if he wears a headscarf, and a lawyer cannot become a prosecutor if he wears one. kippah.

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The arguments in favor of Bill 21 center on worn-out issues developed primarily in Europe and are rooted in Islamophobic tropes. The ban on headscarves has led to a ban on Muslim mothers from accompanying children on school field trips. Other religions are mostly collateral damage. It is ugly and goes against the values ​​defended, on paper, by the European Union.

The problem is that even human rights courts have said they see no problem with this kind of ban, and prominent opinion leaders argue that it is necessary here.

Bill 96 is clearly unconstitutional. All parties in Ottawa have said they backed Quebec’s claim that it could amend the Constitution and remove language rights unilaterally. No leader was willing to say clearly that he would uphold constitutional and Charter rights when challenging Bill 21 or Bill 96 in court.

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In light of Legault’s illiberal marching orders and given the results of the vote, without exaggeration, Trudeau owes him nothing.

Ottawa has its own particularly enlightened language legislation (dubbed Bill 32 at the time of dissolution) that liberals would do well to get back into the order document as soon as possible. It is also widely supported and would accomplish things that were long overdue, like ordering all Canadian airlines (think WestJet and Porter) to provide services in both languages, as Air Canada is required to do. These changes are welcome and are the result of careful consultation from Mélanie Joly, Minister for Official Languages.

Trudeau, feeling that his time in office has an expiration date, should start thinking about his legacy. A firm stand in defense of rights would be a good starting point.

Tom Mulcair, a former leader of the federal NDP, served as Minister of the Environment in Jean Charest’s liberal Quebec government.