MONTREAL -- Mark Twain has been rumoured to have said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” And for Anglophones, the 2018 election of the right-leaning CAQ government with only one Anglophone caucus member, Christopher Skeete, is reminiscent of the 1976 sweep of the left-leaning Parti Quebecois that likewise only included the British-born MNA David Payne.
To compensate for the then dearth of in-party connections to the new government, prominent English-speaking community leaders wisely chose to create a new non-partisan organization that could convene and lobby for the community as a whole. So was born Alliance Quebec in 1982, which had its successes in lobbying and litigation.
Unfortunately, as one of its directors from 1998-1999, I witnessed firsthand the beginning of its demise that finally came in 2005. It became clear that the organization had been incorrectly structured from the outset, having never properly recognized the community’s ethnicities, diverse opinions, and ideologies. And that omission led to resentment for many, especially in the Montreal area.
Add to that a well-intentioned yet short-sighted federal government financial support system, and the stage was set for the eventual Johnson revolution of 1998 when a mass of outsiders mounted a successful challenge to AQ’s governance behind presidential candidate William Johnson. Sadly, as is so often the case with revolts, AQ never recovered from the subsequent internal fractiousness that followed.
But what if the CAQ government were to defy its critics and initiate a linguistic social contract similar to what I outlined on Oct. 22 and looked to Montreal Anglophones for feedback and buy-in? It might be at a loss to figure out who really speaks for the community there, and what organization is best positioned to help deliver Anglophones to any new progressive consensus.
Quebec Liberal Anglophone MNAs might be viewed now by the new government, as in 1976 by the PQ, with some suspicion given their partisan interest in addition to their communal one. And considering how often ordinary English-speakers openly lament that they have felt trapped into voting for the QLP; that sentiment, too, hurts QLP deputies’ efforts at being credible intermediaries to grassroots Anglophones.
The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) has done some excellent work in the Montreal area, where most of Quebec’s English-speakers live, but only institutions there back it rather than an individual-based membership base. Yet institutions can have their own interests that may, or may not, always coincide entirely with those of individual community members they purport to serve.
What is also needed for balance is an organization in Montreal structured to be more inclusive and not repeat (or rhyme with) Alliance Quebec’s shortcomings. With an individual-based membership base, it will also be important to recognize minority opinion within itself as do, for example, lower houses of parliaments (i.e., a House of Commons) when they recognize opposition parties.
For such an organization to be successful, one need is certain: its future internal proceedings must be civil to avoid repeating AQ’s fate. Moreover, this organization could co-exist alongside, or within, the QCGN network but with an emphasis on the empowerment of Montreal’s English speakers as individuals.
And if in the process of trying to really be representative, its leadership discovers that below the surface there is still an aggregation of anglophone individuals, numerous enough to even be a “silent majority”, like those who supported William Johnson 22 years ago; they, too, will need to be recognized and engaged if a majority francophone/minority anglophone linguistic peace agreement is ever to be forged that is widely supported, credible, and enduring.
Richard Walsh Smith is a former director of the Montreal Centre Chapter of Alliance Quebec as well as its provincial board.
