On May 28th, three weeks after the election, more than 250 people packed a conference room at the Sheraton Hotel, Montreal, for the first NDP Quebec Convention since its historic victory in Quebec. It was by far the largest NDPQ convention in recent memory and it could not be otherwise. After all it has just gone from 1 seat to 59 seats, a number that the Bloc itself never reached in its 20-year political domination in Quebec.
The mood was festive. Most of the newly elected MPs were present, and so was Jack Layton. However it obviously lacked the same youthful presence and energy that was present at the NDP election rally in Montreal. There was a sense that the convention was put together quite hastily. Many rank-and-file members, let alone new NDP voters, were not aware of the convention. The atmosphere of the convention was more of a celebratory one, and not a convention of rank-and-file members to discuss the direction of the party after its historicy victory. We will give a benefit of a doubt that there will be a convention of such nature in the near future, one which will involve the participation of rank-and-file members in every riding association to flush out how the NDP Quebec can work together with other forces in the province, especially the unions and Quebec solidaire, to fight against Harper’s austerity.
Aside from some token resolutions passed at the convention, the only thing worth mentioning in the convention was how during the press conference Jack Layton found himself attacked by the journalists who sought to revive the old natioanlist-federalist debate. As a matter of fact, since the NDP victory in Quebec that marked the first sign of unity between Anglophone and Francophone workers in this century, the hired journalists and poltiical pundits have been relentless in their efforts to whip up anglo- and franco-chauvinism. Some of the media reports of the NDP Quebec convention, for example, read: “Layton speech ripe with Quebec natioanlism” (Toronto Sun, 28 May 2011), “NDP beats nationalist drum at Quebec gathering” (Montreal Gazette, 28 May 2011).
Instead of focusing on what the NDP, as the official opposition, would do in the face of Harper’s austerity agenda now that he has the majority, the swarming journalists were only interested in digging up the stale language debate. When asked “Are you planning to stir up the language debate in Quebec with a proposal to extend bill 101 to federal institutions?” by one of the journalists, Jack Layton aptly responded: “It has nothing to do with stirring things up, it has to do with dealing with a problem that we’ve had for quite some times … Now, those that would like to keep the old language debate ‘hot’ don’t like a solution. They prefer the continued battles, but we’re a party that looks for solutions and that’s what this proposal is all about.” Jack was correct to point out that the establishment is only interested in stirring the language debate endlessly in order to divert the workers from real issues and solutions.
The goal on the part of the media was clear: to divide the working class along a national and language line. The Montreal Gazette might as well change its headline to “The media beats nationalist drum”. However, the sound of this drum has been largely met with deafening silence from the workers both in the French and English Canada, because the only thing they are hearing right now is one being beaten ferociously from the parliament hall by the Conservative majority as they prepare to implement austerity measures.
If in the next four years NDP cannot mount an effective resistance against Harper’s agenda, then it won’t be long before the old nationalist-federalist discourse returns to Quebec again. In the meantime, all indications at this moment point to a sharpening class struggle over the national question. The perspective for the current period in Quebec is clear: working class unity against Harper’s and Charest’s attacks. The NDP, Quebec solidaire, and the unions have to form a united front to fight against these attacks and put forward working class solutions to the crisis of capitalism.
