NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Opposition to the Charest government

Popular opposition to the Charest government arose mere weeks after the Parti libéral du Québec, led by Jean Charest formed the government of Quebec, Canada, after the April 14, 2003 Quebec election. The opposition grew stronger in the autumn of 2003. It takes many forms, mainly those of great public protests of citizens or of labour union members, and a drastically falling approval rate. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The Parti libéral du Québec (Liberal Party of Quebec), or PLQ, is a liberal political party in the Canadian province of Quebec. ... Portrait of Jean J. Charest. ... This article describes the Canadian province. ... In the Quebec general election on April 14, 2003, the Quebec Liberal Party under Jean Charest defeated the incumbent Parti Québécois under Bernard Landry. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ... A union (labor union in American English; trade union, sometimes trades union, in British English; either labour union or trade union in Canadian English) is a legal entity consisting of employees or workers having a common interest, such as all the assembly workers for one employer, or all the workers...

Quebec is, politically, farther left than any other region in North America and despite the fact that Charest's policies would be considered moderate or even liberal in most other areas, the strength of unions and left-wing groups have created a perceived expectation of social democratic policies, which is a major contributor in the opposition. World map showing location of North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is the third largest continent in area and in population after Eurasia and Africa. ... Moderate in the sense meant here is an intermediate position between those generally classified as being left-wing and those seen as being right-wing. ... In politics, the term liberal refers to: an adherent of the ideology of liberalism —an ideology espousing liberty. ... Social democracy is a political ideology emerging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries from supporters of Marxism who believed that the transition to a socialist society could be achieved through democratic evolutionary rather than revolutionary means. ...

Downfall

The approval rate of the Charest government fell sharply from the autumn of 2003 to the spring of 2004, when it reached its low point of 25% of popular approval. As of February 2005, the disapproval rate is 70%. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Reasons for criticism

Subcontracting File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A subcontractor is an individual or in many cases a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of anothers contract. ...

Health care: Health care and the reduction of waiting lists was said to be the "number one priority" of Charest and his eventual government, and Charest attacked Premier Bernard Landry the Parti Québécois (PQ) personally on his alledged failiure to treat the problem. Since the election, the newspaper Le Devoir has revealed that matters were actually worse, one year after Charest's Liberal Party (PLQ) gained power. Also, the PLQ has failed at striking an agreement for more money from the federal government for heathcare, thus also failing at solving the fiscal imbalance. The term medicare (in lowercase) (French: assurance-maladie) is the unofficial name for Canadas universal public health insurance system. ... Bernard Landry official 2003 election picture. ... The Parti Québécois or PQ is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for Quebec from Canada. ... Le Devoir on the 2003 Quebec election. ... Fiscal imbalance (in French, déséquilibre fiscal) is the term used in Canada to describe a monetary imbalance between the Canadian federal government and the provincial governments. ...

Municipal demergers The most recent episode of municipal reorganization in Quebec was undertaken in 2002 by the Parti Quebecois government headed by Premier Lucien Bouchard and his successor Bernard Landry. ...

Privatization Privatization (sometimes privatisation, denationalization, or, especially in India, disinvestment) is the process of transferring property, from public ownership to private ownership and/or transferring the management of a service or activity from the government to the private sector. ...

Environment: The government defends its plan to build a natural gas power plant at Beauharnois, which would increase the pollution produced by Quebec, in contravention of the spirit of the Kyoto Accord. Greenpeace is one of the notable adversaries of this project. A new movement, the Coalition Québec-Vert Kyoto, was founded to fight against the development of such power plants in Québec. After a popular campaign that included the activism of famous Quebec chansonnier Paul Piché, the previous PQ government had formally stopped all projects to build small hydroelectric dams in order to not ruin small rivers. The new Charest government has since spoken of again considering building dams on small rivers, like the Magpie river in the Cote-Nord region. American environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. came to Quebec to speak against an eventual dam on Magpie, shortly after rafting on the river as a political statement. Natural gas - Wikipedia /**/ @import /skins/monobook/IE50Fixes. ... A power station (also power plant) is a facility for the generation of electric power. ... Earth as seen by Apollo 17 The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty on global warming. ... Greenpeace protest. ... Canadian singer-songwriter Dayna Manning. ... Paul Piché is a Quebecois chansonnier, environementalist, political activist and renown Quebec sovereigntist. ... Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is a form of hydropower, (i. ... Map of Cote-Nord in relation to Quebec Côte-Nord (literaly Northern Coast) is the second largest (235,742 km², 17%) region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Quebec. ... In politics and other non-technical contexts, nature or (the) (natural) environment often refers to that part of the natural world that people deem important or valuable, for any reason — economic, aesthetic, philosophical, hedonistic, sentimental, etc. ... Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. ... Rafting is a recreational activity utilizing a raft to navigate a river or other body of water. ...

Taxation: Large tax cuts was promised, and were opposed by unions who argued that they were not realistic and would lead to drastic cuts in government services. These tax cuts have not yet been implemented.

Public services Public services is a term usually used to mean services provided by government to its citizens, either directly (through the public sector) or by financing private provision of services. ...

Economic interventionism Economic interventionism is a term used to describe activity undertaken by a central government to affect a countrys economy in an attempt to increase economic growth and/or standards of living. ...

Democracy: A parliamentary procedure exists in Quebec called le bâillon (meaning "the gag", to muzzle). Enacted by the government, it forbids the Opposition to ask questions at the National Assembly of Quebec so that bills can be passed more quickly in special circumstances. While it is still legal and while the Parti Québécois has used it in the past, it was never done so for such a large number of such important bills as it was seen in December of 2003. Eight bills were passed, including the modification of subcontracting laws and raising fees charged to parents by daycare centres from $5 a day to $7 a day. Also, the last time the PQ used the procedure, criticism (mostly from the Liberals) partly led it to bring about an agreement to restrict the bâillon, but it could not be put into law before the 2003 election. While they are partly responsible for the agreement, the Liberals have forgone it once in power. The Quebec Parliament Building at night The National Assembly is the legislative body of the Canadian province of Quebec. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ...

Responsibility: Shortly after election day, the new Minister of Finance Yves Séguin claimed to have discovered a hidden deficit in the planned Parti Québécois 2003-2004 budget (that was never adopted, since it was defeated). This fiscal analysis is controversial and contradicted by many. Since then, the cause of a vast array of broken promises have been attributed by Liberal ministers to what they call the "catastrophic administration of the previous government". This frequent practice has irritated a great part of the population, which has seen the custom as scapegoating. The social unrest and public protests have also been blamed by Charest, in a public letter, as the defence of "corporate interests" from the labour unions, blocking the necessary "modernization" of the provincial government that his government intends to engineer. In moral philosophy, the word responsibility has at least two related meanings: The obligation to answer for actions. ... The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government. ... The scapegoat was a goat that was driven off into the wilderness as part of the ceremonies of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, in Judaism during the times of the Temple in Jerusalem. ...

Mandate: Another recurring explanation, given to the parliamentary Opposition at the National Assembly, is that the PLQ was given a mandate in the 2003 election, and that the aspects of the Réingénérie ("re-engineering") were in the party's platform approved by the voters. Critics object that many controversial aspects of the government actions were not discussed during the campaign, and some were indeed not in the program, e.g., increasing day care fees and building a gas power plant. Mandate can mean: An obligation handed down by an inter-governmental body; see mandate (international law) The power granted by an electorate; see mandate (politics) A League of Nations mandate To some Christians, an order from God; see mandate (theology) The decision of an appeals court; see mandate (law) This... The Parliamentary Opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. ... Mandate can mean: An obligation handed down by an inter-governmental body; see mandate (international law) The power granted by an electorate; see mandate (politics) A League of Nations mandate To some Christians, an order from God; see mandate (theology) The decision of an appeals court; see mandate (law) This...

Day care: Charest, having formally vowed not to raise the price of the "$5-a-day day care centres]], broke that promise at the end of 2003, raising it to $7 a day. Day care is the care of a child during the day by a person other than the childs parents or legal guardians, often someone outside the childs immediate family. ... 2003 is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, and also: The International Year of Freshwater The European Disability Year Events January January 1 - Luíz Inácio Lula Da Silva becomes the 37th President of Brazil. ...

Electoral reform: Charest had promised a reform of the electoral system to introduce proportional representation during his first mandate. Since voting day, the government has now stated that such a reform would not be possible before the next election, angering smaller parties like the Union des forces progressistes and the Bloc pot. Electoral reform projects seek to change the way that public desires are reflected in elections. ... Electoral reform projects seek to change the way that public desires are reflected in elections. ... Proportional Representation (PR) describes various multi-winner electoral systems which try to ensure that the proportional support gained by different groups is accurately reflected in the election result. ... The Union des forces progressistes (UFP) is a left wing political party in Quebec, Canada. ... The Bloc pot is a political party in the Canadian province of Quebec that is dedicated to the legalization of marijuana. ...

Federal-provincial relations: The PLQ presented itself to voters as the best eventual government to solve the fiscal imbalance problem, because of its supposedly less confrontational approach and because of the fact that it is federalist and not sovereigntist. However, no substantial advancement have been made in the fiscal imbalance matter, despite the creation of the Council of the Federation. The Council itself was the target of criticism as a demonstration of submission to English Canada, as an implicit recognition of the absence of uniqueness for Quebec (see distinct society), and as undemocratic because it was not presented to voters before the election. Also, the government was criticized for letting the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Sheila Copps, speak for Quebec Minister of Culture Line Beauchamp at UNESCO. See also: Politics of Canada. This is an article about the politics of the Province of Quebec, Canada. ... Fiscal imbalance (in French déséquilibre fiscal) is the term used in Quebec and Canada to describe a monetary imbalance between the Canadian federal government and the Quebec and provincial governments. ... Quebec federalism, in regards to the future of the Quebec people, defends the concept of Quebec remaining within Canada as opposed to Quebec sovereigntism, proponent of Quebec independence (most often, but not for all followers, along with an economic union with Canada similar to the European Union). ... Quebec The Quebec sovereignty movement is a movement calling for the attainment of sovereignty for Quebec, a province of the country of Canada. ... English Canada is a term used to describe either: the anglophone residents of Canada or the Canadian provinces other than Quebec and, sometimes, New Brunswick, in which French is an official language of the provincial governments. ... Distinct society (in French la société distincte) was a political neologism used in Canada during the Meech Lake Accord debate, in the second half of the 1980s. ... The Minister of Canadian Heritage is a member of the Cabinet and head of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the federal government department responsible for Canadas Arts, Culture, Media, Communications network, and Sport. ... Sheila Maureen Copps (born November 27, 1952, in Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian journalist and politician. ... UNESCO logo The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, commonly known as UNESCO, is a specialized agency of the United Nations system established in 1946. ... Canada is a constitutional monarchy as a Commonwealth Realm (see Monarchy in Canada) with a federal system of parliamentary government, and strong democratic traditions. ...

Poverty Poverty is the state of being without, often associated with need, hardship and lack of resources across a wide range of circumstance. ...

Relations with aboriginal peoples First Nations is the current title used by Canada to describe the various societies of the indigenous peoples, called Native Americans in the U.S. They have also been known as Indians, Native Canadians, Aboriginal Americans, Amer-Indians, or Aboriginals, and are officially called Indians in the Indian Act, which...

Gambling Gambling (or betting) is any behavior involving risking money or valuables (making a wager or placing a stake) on the outcome of a game, contest, or other event in which the outcome of that activity depends partially or totally upon chance or upon ones ability to do something. ...

Education: The government cut $103 million from its financial aid program for students, therefore raising students' average debt after leaving university to $20,000. It also proposed to decentralize parts of the education system, a move that was widely contested by teacher unions and student movements. Student unions declared a student strike on February 24, 2005. Is is currently ongoing. See 2005 Quebec student strike . The Quebec education system is governed by the Ministère de lÉducation du Québec (Ministry of Education of Quebec). ... February 24 is the 55th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The 2005 Quebec student strike, occured between February 24, 2005 and April 2005. ...

Opponents

Many personalities and organizations have displayed public opposition to politics of the Charest government, some structures having even being created specifically to protest that government. Some of the most prominent are enumerated below.

Organizations created for that purpose

Labor unions

The Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) (English: Confederation of National Labour Unions) (CNTU), is the second largest trade union in the Province of Quebec, Canada, by membership. ... The Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (Quebec Workers Federation), or FTQ, is the most important House of Labour in Quebec according to its membership. ...

Student unions

Political parties

The Parti Québécois or PQ is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for Quebec from Canada. ... The Union des forces progressistes (UFP) is a left wing political party in Quebec, Canada. ...

Artists

Others

Greenpeace protest. ... Hubert Reeves (born July 13, 1932 in Montreal, Quebec) is an astrophysicist and a well-known science popularizer. ... Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. ...

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