Prime Minister François Legault had already wasted a good opportunity to raise the debate by launching a partisan charge totally inappropriate in the National Assembly on the anniversary of the death of Joyce Echaquan.
It was even more distressing to hear him justify his refusal to declare a public holiday to mark reconciliation with the First Nations by the damage that this would cause to the productivity of the Quebec economy.
The gesture would have been elegant, though most provinces did not follow Ottawa’s lead either. But making such a mercantile argument reflected a distressing lack of empathy. Mr. Legault could have simply said that he prefers concrete gestures to symbolic commemorations; one could hardly have found him wrong.
In provinces where productivity is higher than in Quebec, such as Ontario, British Columbia or Alberta, there are more statutory holidays. Conversely, provinces with lower productivity, such as Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, offer less.
This is not the first time that his economic obsession has made him forget that the role of a government is also to help build a more humane and just society. During the reform of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), he seemed neither to understand nor to be touched by the tragedy experienced by those who had availed themselves of it in the hope of settling in Quebec, and who suddenly saw their dream shattered after leaving everything. In his view, meeting the needs of the labor market was the only criterion.
No one disputes the quality of the work carried out by the Minister responsible for Indigenous Affairs, Ian Lafrenière, whose tact allowed us to renew a dialogue that was practically broken off, but the Prime Minister’s participation in the ceremonies commemorating the National Truth Day and reconciliation would have better testified to the determination of the State and the Quebec nation to establish relations with the First Nations on new bases.
As long as Mr. Legault persists in denying that Aboriginals are victims of “systemic racism”, it will be very difficult to convince them of the sincerity of his intentions. But he seems to see red and rushes like a bull as soon as those words are said. This week he looked like he was in dire need of a vacation.
After shouting from the rooftops that we were trying to make Quebecers feel guilty, he condemned himself to denial. After the Come Commission, however, the coroner who investigated the death of Joyce Echaquan also comes to the conclusion that systemic racism is indeed real. Is she also part of those wokes radicals who take pleasure in the denigration of Quebec?
Obviously, once Mr. Legault recognizes that Aboriginals are victims of systemic racism, it would become even more difficult to claim that visible minorities are not. Would the rights that thousands of years of land occupation confer on some make discrimination against others more acceptable?
For three years, Mr. Legault has worked to restore to Quebecers a pride and self-confidence that the difficult aftermath of the 1995 referendum and the degeneration of political mores under Liberal rule had undermined, but he did not is doing Quebec a disservice by plunging it into a sterile debate from which it cannot grow up. The election year promises to be worrying.
It is true that the concept of “systemic racism” is not easy to grasp, but it is sad to see the Prime Minister twist it in order to reject it. To hear it, it would simply be a new weapon used by those who revel in the Quebec bashing. English Canada certainly has no lessons to teach when it comes to relations with the Aboriginals, but the turpitude of some cannot justify that of others.
Quebecers have the feeling that they themselves have always been victims of discrimination since the Conquest. They are therefore well placed to understand how difficult the coexistence of two cultures and two ways of life can be, especially when one is in a minority situation.
They can legitimately be proud of what they have succeeded in building in the face of adversity, but they could also take great pride in having known how to create a society where everyone would feel at home, accepted and respected as they are.
The challenge is great, but Mr. Legault has shown that he does not lack heart in the work. We can congratulate ourselves on having a bull as prime minister, provided he heads in the right direction.