"La paix sociale est terminee" reads a poster in the working-class Montreal neighbourhood of Saint-Henri. It advertises a demonstration against the neoliberal agenda of the Quebec provincial government. If strikes, demonstrations, and occupations are to be taken as a sign, the social peace is indeed over.

On the 14th of April, 2003, Quebec voters elected a Liberal government led by Jean Charest. The Liberal Party of Quebec differs from the Parti Quebecois (PQ), which governed for the previous nine years, by its rabid opposition to Quebec sovereignty and its aggressive cuts to the social programs that are the legacy of Quebec's Quiet Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s.

Whereas the PQ governments preferred a policy of trying to co-opt the union leadership, Charest's Liberals are slashing away workers’ gains without regard for popular discontent with their policy. The earlier fall in popularity of the PQ reflects the disarray of the nationalist movement after the failure of the 1995 referendum on Quebec national sovereignty, as well as revulsion towards the social cuts carried out by the P.Q. in the 1990s.

Since the election Mr. Charest has wasted no time instituting his neoliberal agenda of tax cuts for the rich, service cuts, privatization and attacks on collective bargaining. In late December he used his large majority in the Assemblee Nationale (Quebec's legislative body) to push through eight controversial bills, including one modifying the Labour Code to allow for more sub-contracting. This bill is one of the main issues for the provinces' unions, which see in it the threat of government work being given to non-unionized companies from the private sector. Other controversial bills include two which modify the health-care sector. One amalgamates the administrations of local clinics and nursing homes with those of the hospitals, cutting away many jobs and destroying the independence these two entities enjoyed. The other undermines union structures and representation in the health-care sector.

Workers have been fighting Charest's policies with tactics as varied as the closing of ports and roads, demonstrations and occupations at government offices, and the slowing down and stopping of certain services. High-profile government officials can hardly attend a public function without being picketed. The day-care workers, blue collar workers, transit workers, funeral workers, and some health-care workers, just to name a few, have gone on strike. There is a constant presence of anti-Charest literature and pro-strike posters visible across Montreal.

A striking example of the consciousness of the workers is the occupation of the Alcan smelter facility in Arvida, Quebec. In January Alcan announced the closure of the facility 10 years ahead of schedule (it was due to be closed in 2015). The 550 workers occupied and ran the facility 24 hours a day, producing aluminum for weeks without the presence of the bosses, until the Alcan owners persuaded the union leadership to end the struggle with the enticement of a large financial settlement.

Jean Charest has become increasingly unpopular as his term has progressed. According to a February 26 CROP poll for the French language daily, La Presse, 66% of the Quebecois are dissatisfied with the Quebec government. This is way up from the Fall when his disapproval ratings were 45% in September, and 49% in November. Charest refuses to back down. According to the Montreal Gazette, the English language daily, Charest is "sticking to his agenda of downsizing government, and striking partnerships with the private sector." (February 2, 2004.)

The election of Charest, his escalating agenda of attacks on working people, and the consequent arousal of working class militancy marks a new period in the development of Quebec. The unions have displayed a higher level of activism that must be strengthened in order for the struggle to advance and win. A common front of unions, which has historical roots in Quebec, is urgently needed. Charest's government has four years left in its mandate. It will take nothing short of a general strike to curtail the regime and its policies.

by Aaron Donny-Clark (Montreal)