Robert Libman: It's time for Quebec anglos to make a statement

It’s time to vote.

This election offers a rare opportunity for minority communities to show the majority that we exist.

For decades, many anglophone Quebecers, feeling like political orphans, have voted with little enthusiasm or stayed home. None of the parties seemed to value the community; some even belittled its concerns. The Quebec Liberal Party was their de facto choice, as the least nationalist among the various options. But they would take the vote of minority communities for granted time and again.

We’ve just been through a very troubling few years, with legislation having been adopted by the National Assembly that deeply wounds minority communities. In this election, it now seems as important as ever to make a statement that we’re here, we’re fed up and we won’t take it any longer. This time, there are additional democratic options allowing us to express that sentiment loudly.

Keeping all our eggs in the Liberal basket would be a sign of weakness, I feel; almost an admission that we accept the status quo. Despite Quebec Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade’s supportive stance in the last debate, many members of minority communities understandably are still fuming about her party’s mishandling of Bill 96 and CEGEP amendments that made it worse.

However, it’s not only about punishing the Liberals. In ridings with non-francophone majorities, where vote-splitting would be unlikely to result in a Coalition Avenir Québec win, the Canadian Party of Quebec, Bloc Montréal and the Quebec Conservative Party have some strong candidates. Electing even one MNA outside the Liberal Party would send a strong message to all parties, the francophone media and many in the majority, and perhaps cause them to reflect on the divisive and detrimental nature of Quebec’s language politics of the past four years.

Many Liberal supporters insist that the community will marginalize itself if many stray from the Liberals in this election. But after Oct. 3, the Liberals will probably have to rebuild, with or without Anglade as their leader. Their priority obviously will be to grow their support among francophones, not minority communities. This will likely translate into further alienation of the community as they dust off their 27-point platform on strengthening the French language, which predated Bill 96 and includes several of the same elements. The Liberals have some fine candidates, like outgoing MNA Greg Kelley. Unfortunately, they risk being muzzled for the next few years as the party rebuilds, which would further frustrate anglophones.

It could be extremely valuable to have elected members from the newer parties in the National Assembly to regularly question the government on issues of direct concern to minority communities. They could block unanimous motions (can you say Bonjour-Hi?) and propose opposition motions. A handful of MNAs won’t create policy, but neither will the Liberals if the CAQ wins a majority. They can work with the other parties as the Equality Party did when we were there, and make speeches on a range of issues, from the perspective of “les autres.”

The newer parties have been struggling to spread their wings locally with the CaPQ and Bloc Montréal having minimal candidate signage. Running against each other in the same ridings also hampers their chances. But if a few can make a breakthrough, at least we will have a voice for the next four years.

In an ideal world, there will be a political realignment one day, uniting minority communities with all francophones who believe in political priorities such as the economic vibrancy of Montreal, the value of bilingualism, immigration and even a common-sense approach to protect the French language in Quebec in positive ways.

Until then, we have to fend for ourselves.

Robert Libman is an architect and building planning consultant who has served as Equality Party leader and MNA, as mayor of Côte-St-Luc and as a member of the Montreal executive committee. He was a Conservative candidate in the 2015 federal election. twitter.com/robertlibman

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