Mario gets off the fence

The Gazette Saturday, September 28, 2002

Éditorial - Last Monday, Jean Charest met The Gazette's editorial board and told us that la question nationale is "a matter of character for Mario Dumont," suggesting that the Action Démocratique du Québec leader had to get off the fence.

With a loud and well-publicized thump, Mr. Dumont seemed to do just that this week in a drumfire of statements and events that portend really dramatic change in the political life of Quebec. In quick succession:

He went to Toronto and told the Barons of Bay Street that a Quebec governed by his party would be an "active, dynamic, creative participant" in "the various forums of the Canadian political system."

It was reported that several big-name federalist business people, most notably Marcel Dutil of Canam Manac Group Inc., had signed on to work for the ADQ.

It was revealed that Mr. Dumont has recently held a private dinner with 20 prominent Jewish businesspeople, a meeting set up by former federal minister Gerry Weiner.

And then, Thursday, Mr. Dumont said something sure to cost him support among the "soft nationalists" who have been wavering between his new movement and the Parti Québécois: "The gun-to-the-temple strategy, (in dealing with the Rest of Canada) we tried it in Quebec, and it didn't yield great results. If you want another referendum, don't vote for the ADQ." A referendum, he added, is "finished the night people vote. The next day, you can't say you don't like the result ... The people decided we'll live within the Canadian system. We'll do our best to make the system work."

This is further than Mr. Dumont has gone before. Until now, he has kept the sovereignty option on the back burner, instead of chucking it into the garbage as the spoiled and poisonous slop it really is. These new developments, taken together, are significant because he can't erase them. Those quotes, plus the image of the ADQ leader standing before a huge Canadian flag in Toronto, are sure to turn up in PQ advertisements denouncing Mr. Dumont come election time.

Mr. Dumont has plainly calculated that from his current dominant position in voter-intention polls, he can win more federalist votes than he loses on the separatist side.

The ADQ's formal position is unchanged: no referendum in a first mandate, and constitutional change is not a priority. But party policy documents still carry a constitutional shopping list based on the old Allaire report, a list that would alarm the most flexible of committed federalists.

In terms of practical politics, however, Mr. Dumont has now positioned himself to make some serious inroads on Liberal support among anglophones and allophones.

Coming closer to clarity on sovereignty is only appropriate for the leader whose approach to policy on everything else has been consistent, principled and clear - although we're still waiting for details on some policies.

Mr. Dumont preaches a "patriotism of responsibility," saying Quebecers need more control over their own lives. This amounts to nothing less than a second Quiet Revolution. Forty years ago, Quebec moved from incessant reliance on the church to incessant reliance on the state. Now the ADQ proposes to move us to reliance on ourselves: lower taxes, smaller government, less intrusive government, more individual choice.

The Quebec Liberals' vague claim to be "reinventing Quebec" is thin gruel compared to Mr. Dumont's version.

The political battle lines are becoming evident in the run-up to a spring election. Quebecers will have time to consider Mr. Dumont's conservative revolution and his disdain for the rhetoric of separatism. We look forward to some interesting opinion polls this winter.