During a recent interview, Québec’s Liberal leader Dominique Anglade told The Montrealer that Québec’s Liberal party is the only choice for anybody who wants to live in a modern and progressive province that’s ready, willing and especially able to deal with the challenges of the new century. Based upon its history that stretches back all the way to the birth (1867) of the Canadian Confederation, Anglade said Québec’s Liberals have always been on the cutting edge of every issue that’s defined the history of Québec.

“We’ve always been a progressive party,” said Anglade. As the leader of the party that brought about both the ‘Quiet Revolution’ and the James Bay project, she went on to say that “…we’ve always been the party that builds unity and purpose; the kind of purpose that pulls people together with a common mission.”

Following initial questions about the CAQ’s imminent plans to ‘reform’ Québec’s  already stringent language laws, Anglade displayed some impatience as she denounced both Bill 21 and Bill 40 as the kind of CAQ signature bills that the CAQ administration used to divide and conquer in order to pursue and consolidate their own political ambitions.

Describing Bill 40 as “…lamentable,” she went on to say that “…this is not a constructive discussion, and it’s bound to lead to other problems in immigration and education.”

While her party is still recognized as the only federalist party left with members in Québec’s National Assembly, she also stressed how both the French language and culture will continue to define Québec’s identity as a French-speaking nation amid the rest of North America. While she admits that the government has a duty to defend both the province’s language and culture, she also insists that it cannot be done by denying the basic human rights of its linguistic and social minorities.

“We should become a state where language, or rather languages, are recognized as an asset, not a liability,” said Anglade.

To be fair, she also mentioned that it’s been a difficult year, and aside from a few complaints about the CAQ’s ability to focus on a clear and concise message, she had little to say about how the Legault government was handling the current pandemic. However, as the promise of a new vaccine begins to make its way into the arms of the people, Anglade also said that “…we’re beginning to see some light at the end of what’s been a very long tunnel.” However, inasmuch as everyone understands that the old ‘normal’ may gone forever, Anglade believes the new ‘normal’ could present a number of singular opportunities for Quebec’s economic development similar to what former Premier Robert Bourassa did with the James Bay Hydro project.

As both a working engineer and as the former Liberal government’s minister of Economic Development, the interview kicked into top gear as Anglade began to display her political talent. Not only did she denounce and reject the neo-liberalism that’s defined most – if not all – of the new century’s major economic policies, but she believes that the province’s leaders must work out a new way of doing both its politics and its business if it wants to be able to face the mounting challenges of the new century.

Simply put, she believes that singular ‘bottom line’ thinking is now a relic of former government, and that the province’s new politics will include a social, sustainable and ecological consideration that will guarantee decent and sustainable development for decades to come. Following a passionate critique of the Neo-Liberalist bottom-line policies that have already wreaked so much damage around the world, Anglade said that she is determined to work out sane and sustainable policies that will make a real difference in the lives of working people throughout the province.

“We must develop the kind of environmental conscience that will define the way we deal with our own resources,” she said.

When asked for details, Anglade described work done in AI (Artificial Intelligence), forestry, energy and agriculture that could place all of these sectors among leaders in their field around the world.

But even if she’s the leader of the oldest political – and only federalist – party in Québec’s National Assembly, she is also the leader of a loyal opposition that includes three radically different political parties who share, and divide the opposition’s seats in front of Premier François Legault’s CAQ – Coalition Avenir du Québec.

When asked about her prospects during the next election, Anglade just smiled after which she said that her party was already getting ready for the big day. Citing the party’s new ‘Charte des Régions’, she said that her party is already working hard to reach out to the regions in order to remind them about what Liberals have already done, and are willing to do for Québec.

“It’s a brave, new and interesting conversation,’ she said, “…and we’re listening.”