Politics, patronage, and the state of Quebec

Journal of Canadian Studies/ Revue d'etudes canadiennes Editor Associate Editor Editorial Board DENIS SMITH Redacteur RALPH HEINTZMAN Redacteur adjoint JEAN-PIERRE LAPOINTE Comite de redaction MARGARET LAURENCE HARVEY McCUE JACQUES MONET, S. J. W. L. MORTON W. F. W. NEVILLE GORDON ROPER DONALD V. SMILEY PHILIP STRATFORD T. H. B. SYMONS W. E. TAYLOR CLARA THOMAS JOHN WADLAND MELVILLE H. WATKINS ALAN WILSON Politics, patronage, and the state of Quebec By now, most readers of the Journal are probably aware that the government of Quebec has been plunged into a conflict of interest and patronage "scandal" involving Premier Bourassa's wife, his brother-in-law and cabinet colleague, Claude Simard, and the Simard family enterprises. What many readers, including some conscientious observers of Quebec affairs, may not fully appreciate, however, is that, in the context of Quebec history, ''l'affaire Paragon" is an event of significance, and its resolution in a forthright and candid manner is of enormous importance for the future of democratic government and politics in Quebec. vital role v1hich patronage has always played in the political life of Quebec and the resulting influence which it has had upon the attitude of French Canadians to politics, to political parties, and to government. What needs to be better understood, in a constructive and sympathetic spirit, is the Journal of Canadian Studies It would be absurd, of course, to think for one moment that patronage politics have been restricted to Quebec or to French Canadians . We cannot stress this point strongly enough, and there should be no misunderstanding about it. As the present dilemma of the Nova Scotia truckers so aptly illustrates, patronage politics have flourished everywhere in Canada and continue to do so in some places with almost as much vigour as in the past. If any distinction can be drawn between Quebec and the other provinces, it 1 merely has to do with the way in which the special circumstances of Quebec have shaped a system which prevailed everywhere . That is why it may be helpful to look at some of the economic and national forces which have influenced political life in Quebec and which have tended, in the past, to endow the patronage character of politics with a particular intensity and zeal. To begin with, it may be useful to recall the distinctive circumstances which surrounded the emergence of democratic government in Canada, to recall, in particular, that the issue around which was focussed the development of parliamentary government was precisely the issue of patronage. What is called in our history books the "struggle for responsible government" was, in fact, a controversy over who should control the distribution of government patronage . As a result, the exercise of that control came to be seen as the proud symbol of representative self-government. To a conquered and increasingly outnumbered people, like the French Canadians, it became, in the middle of the nineteenth century, a very potent and important symbol indeed. The patronage power was more than just a symbol, however, because of the special economic circumstances of the French Canadians . For reasons which we cannot discuss here, the French Canadian in Quebec, despite his advantage in population, has always found himself in a position of economic inferiority : industry, big business, finance, in short, all the instruments of economic life have been in the hands of the English (whether Canadian, American, or British); and, until very recently, economic and business affairs have been conducted almost exclusively in the English language. The French Canadian, therefore, has always been at a clear disadvantage: as a young job seeker his employment opportunities were severely restricted, and if he showed great interest in the civil service or other patronage jobs, it was probably not so much from an alleged "bureaucratic mentality" as from 2 simple need. Senator L. 0. David, the well-known journalist and historian, once explained the problem in this way: "It is perhaps true that we are a little too anxious to secure government jobs, but one should not forget that even our educated young people have great difficulty in finding jobs, that many careers and doors are closed to them, that all the big industrial, financial, and business firms...