The youth wing of the provincial Liberal party proposed a flurry of ideas to revolutionize Quebec over the weekend, some of which were immediately squelched by those who actually hold power.
But among the bold ideas are some that sitting politicians say they will examine.
The youthful policy debaters held a weekend conference that was mostly concerned with job security, immigration and innovation.
"The first thing we should do is focus on competitiveness, competencIes and workforce," said the president of the Youth Wing, Nicolas Perrino.
To that end the young Liberals suggested eliminating the pre-university track from Quebec's Cegep system, and instead extending high school and university.
Perrino said he would rather see Cegeps focus exclusively on technical training that focus on the needs of each region.
"We want to build large and prestigious technical schools that are divided into regions and are linked to the regional needs and business needs of the region so the youth get their job and can work in their field," he said.
Another participant, 17-year-old Cedric Remy, said that many of his generation worry about how they will train for an ever-changing job market.
"Because we know the recession and anything could happen. You go to school and we're like 'okay, am I going to have a job? Am I going to have a job in the industry I study in,'" said Remy.
Premier Philippe Couillard was quick to dismiss the suggestion to change the Cegep system, but acknowledged that the days of doing one job for life are gone.
"Now you will probably change your job three or four times during your active life, so you need to be fundamentally engaged in retraining and education and be open to all kinds of opportunities," said Couillard.
Privatize the SAQ?
Some of the other ideas the youth wing proposed include putting tolls on every bridge to Montreal as a way to deter drivers.
"Don't put tolls only on the Champlain. Put them on other bridges, mostly for congestion," said Perrino.
They also discussed privatizing the SAQ, and reducing French-language requirements for immigrants.
Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil said she expected ideas like that one will come up for more discussion later in the months and years to come.
"I think we all need to reflect upon what they've put on the table and I'm going to have an opportunity to lead a larger debate on immigration which will include this issue," Weil said.
Whether the governing party takes any of these ideas seriously will remain to be seen when the National Assembly returns to sitting next month.
