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Power
  • Since the 1980s, the issue of Québec’s place within the Canadian federation has been the focus of political debates.
  • A sovereignist movement was established and instigated two referendums, one in 1980 and the other in 1995. At the same time, constitutional negotiations sought to define Québec’s political status, among other things.
  • In 1985, the Québec government recognized the existence and the ancestral rights of 10 Indigenous nations in Québec. An 11th nation, the Maliseet, was recognized in 1989.
  • In 2006, the House of Commons adopted a motion recognizing that Quebecers formed a nation within a united Canada.
  • Created in 2008, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada was set up to shed light on what 150 000 Indigenous children endured in residential schools.
Territory
  • In the summer of 1990, a land dispute sparked a conflict in Oka between the Mohawk and the provincial and federal governments.
  • In 1999, the territory of Nunavut was carved out of the former boundaries of the Northwest Territories.
  • In 2002, the Paix des Braves recognized the Cree’s ancestral rights to the land they occupied and encouraged the participation of Cree businesses in development projects in the territory.
Economy
  • Québec’s economy was deeply affected by the recession in the early 1980s.
  • As a result of an economic downturn, the Québec government went into debt in order to maintain the services it offered to the population. The role of the state was challenged and redefined.
  • In the context of globalization, Canada, the United States and Mexico concluded the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which came into effect in 1994.
  • To remain competitive, Québec has encouraged the development of innovative economic sectors.
  • Since the 1980s, urbanization has continued to grow in Québec, often to the detriment of rural communities, some of which are facing devitalization.
Society
  • The falling birth rate and the rising number of seniors have led to the aging of Québec’s population.
  • To raise the birth rate, the Québec government has adopted several measures, such as the creation of child care centres in 1997 and the Québec Parental Insurance Plan in 2006.
  • Immigration has allowed Québec to compensate for its low birth rate.
  • The Canada–Québec Accord on immigration, signed in 1991, gave Québec the power to select its immigrants. It also gave the province exclusive responsibility for receiving and integrating immigrants within its borders.
  • Various measures were adopted in order to promote gender equality. In particular, these measures addressed the management of family patrimony, pay equity, parity and work–family balance.
  • In Canada, like in Québec, the Indigenous population underwent significant population growth.
Culture
  • The laws designed to protect the French language in the 1970s continued to be the source of language tensions, which grew in the 1980s.
  • In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Bill 101, which allowed only French as the language of signage, violated freedom of expression. Bill 101 was replaced by Bill 178, which required French on outdoor signage only. Bill 86, adopted in 1993, finally allowed bilingual signage in general, but required French to be visually predominant.
  • Ten Indigenous languages are spoken in Québec, and some 60 across Canada. All of these languages are threatened with extinction, except for the Inuit language, Inuktitut.
  • In 1992, the adoption of an initial cultural policy renewed the Québec state’s intervention in the cultural sphere, in particular by implementing various measures for financial support.
  • Artistic productions occupy a particularly important place in Québec culture, and are now disseminated around the world.
  • The transition to an information society, along with expanding globalization, has profoundly changed Québec society and transformed the means of dissemination in the cultural industry.
Neo-Liberalism
  • In the context of the economic crisis of the 1980s, the ideology of neo-liberalism gained ground and influenced political and economic thinking.
  • Supporters of neo-liberalism questioned the welfare state. They defended laissez-faire economics and limited state intervention in the economy and society.
  • Under the influence of neo-liberal ideas, and with the goal of reducing the public debt, governments invested less in social programs, reduced the number of public-sector employees and their wages, and moved toward privatization.
Civil Society
  • Members of civil society, that is, people who are not political decision-makers, mobilized and took positions with regard to societal choices.
  • Faced with political, economic and social choices, groups denounced the influence of neo-liberal ideas on governments and the negative effects of globalization. They believed that these ideas were causing social inequalities and a growing gap between rich and poor.
  • Faced with cultural choices, groups demanded stronger state support for artists and writers.
  • Faced with environmental choices, groups demanded more measures to fight climate change and challenged certain practices regarding the exploitation of natural resources.
Sovereignty
  • In 1980, René Lévesque’s Parti Québécois government held a referendum. It asked the population to give it the mandate to negotiate sovereignty-association with Canada, which would mean political independence with economic ties. The No side won.
  • Following the patriation of the Constitution without Québec’s consent and the failure of constitutional negotiations at Lac Meech and Charlottetown, there was a revival of the sovereignty movement.
  • In 1995, Jacques Parizeau’s PQ government proposed a sovereignty option in another referendum, which Quebecers rejected for the second time.

Explanation

The 1980 and 1995 referendums

Explanation

Constitutional negotiations

Explanation

Indigenous rights

In addition to the Québec government’s recognition of Indigenous nations and their rights in 1985, Indigenous people made other gains following demands made starting in the 1980s.

  • A section of the Constitution Act, 1982 recognized the ancestral rights of Indigenous peoples as well as their treaty rights.
  • In 1985, Bill C-31 brought significant changes to the Indian Act. First Nations women married to non-First Nations partners were now considered “Indians,” as were their children. This bill also eliminated the enfranchisement clauses still present in the Indian Act.
  • In 2007, the UN adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which recognized Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination, among other things. Canada supported the declaration in 2010.

Explanation

Post-referendum action

  • The motion proposed by Stephen Harper’s government, recognizing that Quebecers formed a nation within a united Canada, was one of the actions taken by the federal government following the promises for constitutional change it had made during the referendum campaigns.
  • Prior to that, in 2000, Jean Chrétien’s government had adopted a law on clarity during referendums. The Clarity Act stipulated that the federal government would have to approve the question presented to Quebecers in the case of a referendum on sovereignty. It also recommended that the majority of votes required be greater than the “50%-plus-one” rule before negotiations on sovereignty could begin.

Explanation

The Oka Crisis

  • During the Oka Crisis, the Mohawk demanded their right to self-determination, meaning the right of a people to determine the form of government that best suits their needs.
  • This conflict, which lasted several months, fuelled tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. This event made all Canadians aware of the sensitive issue of Indigenous rights and their relationship to the land.
  • The Oka Crisis prompted the Canadian Parliament to vote in favour of the establishment of a Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples to study relations between Indigenous peoples, the federal government and Canadian society.
  • The Commission’s report recommended, among other things, that Indigenous peoples be able to participate in formulating the policies that affect them and that they be granted the powers necessary for self-determination.
  • Since the Commission’s recommendations would have required an amendment to the Canadian Constitution, very few of them were implemented.

Explanation

Creation of Nunavut

  • In 1999, the Inuit represented 85% of the population of Nunavut, which they governed autonomously.
  • The creation of Nunavut set a precedent: it was the first time a country changed its domestic borders at the request of an Indigenous people.

Definition

A temporary downturn in economic activity.

Explanation

Foreign relations in a context of globalization

Beginning in the 1980s, with the phenomenon of globalization, international relations took on new political, economic and military dimensions.

  • Starting in 1945, Canada joined international organizations or conferences, such as the UN, NATO, the G7 and the G20, that were created in order to address the many challenges resulting from global changes.
  • Starting in 1989, Canada signed several trade agreements, including NAFTA, which came into effect in 1994. These agreements allowed Canada to trade on equal footing with the businesses of partner countries or groups of countries.
  • Starting in 1998, Canada participated in economic missions abroad to seek business opportunities and partnerships in technological research and development.
  • At the turn of the 21st century, the Canadian Armed Forces participated in missions abroad. These missions consisted of military operations, but also of search and rescue operations, surveillance, providing supplies, training other armies, peacekeeping, etc.

Explanation

The impact of globalization in Québec

In the 1980s and 1990s, the phenomenon of economic globalization accelerated, resulting in increased international trade. The impact of globalization on Québec was significant.

  • The free trade agreements signed by Canada allowed Québec to increase its exports.
  • Some businesses relocated their plants to lower production costs, while others were purchased by companies outside the province.
  • Québec Inc., the partnership that emerged between the Québec government and a group of private businesses led by Francophone Quebecers, enabled the development and consolidation of many small and medium-sized Québec enterprises, while creating thousands of jobs and diversifying the economy.
  • Many Québec businesses merged in order to maintain their competitiveness.
  • Globalization led to intense social debate.

Explanation

The economic context in rural communities

Explanation

Consequences of the aging of the population

Explanation

The Québec government’s family policy

The creation of the child care centres or CPEs and the adoption of the QPIP were part of the family policy instituted by the Québec government starting in the 1980s.

Explanation

Immigration and integration

  • Since the 1960s, more and more members of diverse ethnocultural groups have joined Québec society, with their own distinct cultural references (language, religion, origin, occupation, etc.).
  • However, the question of how best to integrate immigrants into Québec society has been the source of much debate:
    • Some fear that too many immigrants are joining the Anglophone community and thereby jeopardizing the preservation of the French language.
    • Certain requests linked to the religious backgrounds of some immigrant communities were considered by some to be excessive or contrary to the values of Québec society. The Québec government turned its attention to the question of religious neutrality (the attitude of a state that does not take a position on religion in the public sphere).
  • The Québec government adopted declarations and policies aimed at better integrating immigrants into society, while condemning all forms of racism and racial discrimination.

Explanation

Gender equality

Despite gains made thanks to feminist demands, many inequalities persisted between men and women. Several measures were adopted regarding women’s rights:

Explanation

Living conditions in Indigenous communities

  • In general, the Indigenous population has a higher unemployment rate and lower wages than the non-Indigenous population. These realities complicate access to housing and to a healthy and balanced diet.
  • Indigenous people often live in overcrowded and poorly built or dilapidated housing. These difficulties have repercussions on their health and life expectancy, which is significantly lower than that of the general Canadian population.
  • Trauma from residential schooling and the loss of family ties, cultural markers and traditional ways of life have contributed to the presence of social issues among Indigenous populations, including sexual assault, suicide, and alcohol and drug addiction.

Explanation

Language of instruction

  • Under Bill 101, the vast majority of children of immigrants were required to attend elementary school and high school in French. However, many parents took advantage of a loophole in the law to allow their children to attend English-language schools.
  • To prevent this practice, the government adopted a new law in 2010 that established strict criteria to access English-language schools.

Explanation

Québec’s cultural policy

  • In the 1980s, interest groups from Québec’s artistic communities demanded increased action and funding from the state in the area of culture.
  • In response, the Québec government adopted a cultural policy in 1992, which comprised three major components:
    • the affirmation of cultural identity
    • support for the arts and its creators
    • citizen access and participation in cultural life
  • After the adoption of its cultural policy, the Québec government implemented various measures to provide financial support:
    • the creation of Crown corporations
    • the establishment of funding programs, particularly to support the operation of cultural institutions and for the construction of cultural facilities

Explanation

The information society

Explanation

Funding of social programs

To reduce the debt, governments invested less in social programs. This situation sparked social debate. Opinions were divided:

Definition

To transfer to the private sector what was once owned by the state.

Explanation

The social economy

  • The social economy is a way of practising economic activities by taking into account the needs of the community or the members of the enterprise. Most of the profits generated by these social economy enterprises are redistributed among the participants or within the community.
  • Social economy projects seek, among other things, to develop the economy of a community by creating sustainable, quality jobs. They also aim to fight poverty and social exclusion while responding to the community’s most pressing needs.

Explanation

Environmental management measures adopted

  • Starting in the 1970s, the Québec government adopted laws and regulations to monitor compliance with its established environmental standards. These standards address, in particular, maximum concentrations of pollutants that cannot be exceeded or limits on resource exploitation.
  • In 1978, the Québec government established the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE) (Bureau of Environmental Hearings). The mandate of this agency is to inform and consult citizens on development projects that could have an impact on the natural environment.
  • In 2000, the Québec government adopted the Québec Action Plan on Climate Change.
  • Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002 and the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015.

Explanation

Resource exploitation

  • Many groups have opposed projects associated with the exploitation of oil and natural gas because of the environmental risks.
  • Québec is investing in renewable energy. It has continued to set up hydroelectric plants and wind farms.
  • The government has adopted various measures to ensure the sustainable development of forest and mining resources.