Lucien Bouchard and Friends Call for the End of the Quiet Revolution

Lise Payette, a Révolution tranquille warrior, has a great column in Le Devoir today where she takes to task a number of Quebec notables who are trying to undue more than 40 years of progress. A study group, hand-picked by Premier Jean Charest who one must never forget was once leader of the Federal Conservative party, has just come down with a list of things that ought to be done to "improve" the economy. These include the usual mantra of "balance the budget, cut spending, levy user fees." Tuition fees for higher education are right near the top of this list, of course.

Perhaps this is par for the course, but former Parti Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard Lucien has gotten into the fray too, and Payette takes particular umbrage at his recent cries for tuition increases. He and his cronies have "lost sight of the fact that what we wanted, as a society wishing to leave ignorance behind, was to make university studies accessible for the poorest in our society. But now that the door is finally open, we are being asked to shut it again."

She goes on: "For someone like me, who was deprived of a university education because of poverty, " this is the end of a dream. (My translation.)

Bouchard's sorties probably shouldn't be a surprise: remember he was a Conservative MP when he crossed the floor to become a charter member of the Bloc Québécois in 1990. And that his kids, who are slightly younger than mine and who once lived in the neighborhood, went to private elementary and high schools. In fact, when he retired from politics one of the reasons given was that he had to make some money so they could go to university in the U.S.

Figures, doesn't it?