Last week, it came to light that the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) drafted a document with a clause that included the following statement: “Quebec is not a ‘nation’, it never has been… Calling oneself something does not make it so and Quebec’s intelligentsia is deliberately misusing the word “nation,” so as to imply a reality that exists only in their self-mirage. The only precise word to use regarding Quebec’s reality is ‘province.'”
This statement was made in an internal document detailing opposition to Bill 96, a new bill proposed by the CAQ government to update Quebec’s language laws. Despite EMSB subsequently taking back that statement, it still represents a classic example of Anglo-chauvinism which does nothing to help the fight against the reactionary nationalism of the CAQ.
This statement is both reactionary and ridiculous for a variety of reasons. Quebec very clearly represents a nation, as much was even recognized by Stephen Harper and the Conservative Party of Canada in 2006! On top of this, one of the primary reasons for the existence of Quebecois national consciousness is primarily the brutal oppression suffered by the francophone population at the hands of the Canadian state and Anglo-Canadian and American imperialism. The denial of Quebec nationhood is connected intimately to the denial of the right of self-determination for Quebec. This is embodied in the misnamed Clarity Act, which denies the right of self-determination of Quebec.
This statement from the EMSB cannot be seen outside the general dynamic of Quebec politics. The EMSB has been one of the few voices fighting against the CAQ’s Bill 21, the infamous law preventing people wearing religious symbols to become teachers, police officers and many other positions. The EMSB had even previously said they would not enforce the law. They are now looking to fight Bill 96, which contains provisions to limit access to public services in particular for English-speaking immigrants. As was explained recently in an article written for La Riposte socialiste, this bill is just another attempt of the CAQ to distract the population and shore up support among the francophones in their quest to build national unity. It won’t really have an impact on the learning of French, while at the same time it allows them to portray themselves as the great defenders of the Quebec people, dividing francophone and anglophone workers in the process.
But in the fight against the CAQ, denying the existence of the Quebec nation is in fact a gift to these right-wing nationalists. The CAQ can point at this blatant Anglo-chauvinism and use it to justify every single reactionary law they put forward attacking various minorities in Quebec. This is precisely what they did following the awful statement of EMSB: the CAQ passed a motion in the National Assembly condemning the EMSB, “Quebec bashing” and “Quebecophobia”. They will obviously use this episode to portray people opposing Bill 96 as Anglo-Chauvinists or “anti-Quebec”, as they did with Bill 21. These right-wing nationalists have nothing to offer to Quebec workers, but here we see how outright denying the existence of Quebec as a nation only pushes francophone workers into their arms! If we want to fight the CAQ – we must fight against the poison of Anglo-chauvinism.
The CAQ is trying to bring Quebec back to the “Great Darkness” of the 1950s, quite literally – as we saw with Legault’s recent defence of arch-conservative premier of those days, Maurice Duplessis. Workers of all backgrounds are realizing this and there will be great class battles against this government – reminiscent of the great strikes of the 40s and 50s which gave the Duplessis regime a bloody nose. In order to win, we need working class solidarity. This solidarity must be built between the workers of different linguistic groups, but that cannot be done without a solid base of trust and mutual respect which must be earned through a combined struggle against the persecution of any and all oppressed groups, including fighting Anglo-chauvinism.
Francophone workers are the natural allies of anglophones wishing to fight the CAQ, but instead of being brought into a collective struggle, they are pushed away when English-speakers ignore, underplay or outright deny the Quebec nation and allow Anglo-chauvinism to rear its ugly head in the movement. What the left in Quebec needs is a class perspective. The history of Quebec is littered with some of the most radical instances of class struggle on the continent. Freed from Anglo-chauvinism, we can build a united movement of workers against the CAQ’s agenda of division and austerity.
