A major ruling-class campaign is under way, for "national unity" against Québec.
to harden
Its objectives are simple:
English-Canadian public opinion against the Québécois and to counter the rise of nationalist influence in Québec itself.
The most consistent and visible aspect of this federalist offensive has been the Task Force on National Unity. But its most telling moments-the ones that reveal its direction most clearly—are initial discussions about the use of force against Qué- bec.
Allan Blakeney, New Democratic Party premier of Saskatchewan, got the honor of being the first to express clearly the possi bility of using force to keep Québec in Confederation. But it was Pierre Trudeau who, in his New Year's "sword" speech, explained most dramatically what the ruling class is considering: military occupation and imposition of the War Measures Act, "the kind of action we took in 1970."
But the debate on military intervention against the Québécois hasn't broken out in full force yet. The main function of such talk is to prepare English Canadians for this eventuality should it ever become necessary. In addition, such threats are designed to intimidate the Québécois masses.
At the same time as it intensifies profederalist propaganda, Ottawa is also applying other forms of pressure. Trudeau has strongly suggested he won't recognize the results of Québec's referendum. The possibility of organizing a referendum under federal auspices and threats that Ottawa will refuse to negotiate
"sovereignty-association" have also been put forward. And of course, this year's federal elections will be posed by the ruling class as a pan-Canadian referendum on "national unity."
The entire ruling class has adopted a systematic policy of pressuring the Parti Québécois government of René Levesque. The Sun Life insurance company's decision to move its head office from Montréal to Toronto because of Law 101* is the most striking example of this strategy to date. The Québec Superior Court ruling invalidating key sections of Law 101 is another example of this pressure.
*Legislation adopted by the Québec parliament (which has a PQ majority) making French the official language of Québec.
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TRUDEAU: Military occupation not ruled out if other forms of pressure fail.
For the moment, there has been no real attempt to destabilize Québec economically or politically. But big business and the federal government are clearly laying the groundwork for such a policy. Moving out company headquarters serves as a warning that it would be very easy to pressure the fragile Québec economy. The number of private police, security agents, and company security services operating in Québec has grown.
Among the most sensational developments were rumors about a "Toronto plot." Several representatives of U.S. corporations are said to have met, with CIA participation, to discuss certain "working hypotheses" such as the assassination of Levesque. The Québec government has confirmed that such a meeting took place, but has been unwilling to reveal the content of the discussions.
In Québec itself, agitation against Bill 101 by the anglophone, immigrant, and Native communities has served as a spearhead for the federalist offensive. Rallying these communities, particularly the privileged anglophones, to the federalist cause on a militant basis is an essential part of the strategy of pressuring the Québec government. And it helps prepare for future attempts at economic and political destabilization.
These communities provide the federal government with a mass striking force inside Québec itself. They can also provide the pretext, in the eyes of the English- Canadian masses, for federal intervention in Québec. That is why federalist propaganda depicts these communities as "oppressed minorities."
A Credible Alternative to the PQ
The federalist campaign has been dragging its feet in finding a credible governmental alternative to the Parti Québécois inside Québec. The Québec Liberal Party (PLQ) was hit very hard by its November 15, 1976, defeat, and hasn't yet totally recovered. Rebuilding it is the main task of the federalist forces inside Québec.
The Union Nationale cannot become an effective instrument of the federalist offensive-a real alternative to the PQ. It has not had a stable position on the national question, and it doesn't have leaders who could run Québec in such difficult circumstances. Most importantly, the Union Nationale does not have the links outside Québec that the PLQ does with the federal Liberals, nor does it have ties with the Canadian imperialist bourgeoisie.
In Québec, the PQ still faces the hostility of the entire ruling class. Its attempts to establish a stable base among bourgeois forces in Québec have failed totally. The PQ's inability to solve the economic crisis and its language legislation account for the hostility of small- and middle-sized businesses toward it.
But more fundamentally, no sector of the bourgeoisie is prepared to accept the political and economic upheaval associated with the PQ's "sovereignty-association." The layers of the bourgeoisie the PQ has been orienting toward are terrified at the idea of any modification of Canada- Québec relations. No matter what concessions the Levesque government may make to the reactionary demands of this sector, it will never gain their support as long as it maintains the "sovereignty-association" goal.
Results of the Offensive
The federalist offensive for "national unity" has succeeded in strengthening the Trudeau government's political authority and electoral support. The reason is quite simple: The federal Liberal government appears to be the only force capable of maintaining "Canadian unity." Only the Liberals have both the necessary base in Québec itself and a coherent policy of opposition to the PQ on the national question. These factors have allowed the Trudeau government to survive the deterio ration of the economy and several scandals.
Neither the Conservatives nor the NDP have been able to present themselves as a realistic alternative to the Liberals. The Tories lack both a base in Québec and a coherent set of policies differentiating them from Trudeau. As for the NDP, its line on the national question is the same as the Liberals' and it has even less support in Québec than the Conservatives.
The federal "national solidarity" offensive has rallied the whole ruling class, the Social-Democratic leadership of the NDP, and many important sectors of the tradeunion bureaucracy including the central leaders of the Canadian Labor Congress.
But this offensive has not met with total success. Several unions have adopted resolutions supporting Québec's right to selfdetermination. The Steelworkers and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the canadian Union or rubne Employees, the two largest unions in Canada, came out very strongly in this direction. The Saskatchewan Federation of Labor also adopted such a resolution, explicitly rejecting an amendment expressing the hope that Canada remain united.
Factors Working Against the Offensive There are three major factors working to undermine the federalist offensive against Québec. First, the deepening economic crisis tends to undermine propaganda about how "beautiful and strong" Canada is. Grandiloquent speeches about unity aren't quite so convincing from a government unable to do anything to stop the jobless rate from rising.
In addition, the "separation" of Québec is not yet posed as an immediate event. The federalist offensive has a number of stages through which it will have to pass. The aim of the federal elections will be to create a real counter-November 15. The Québec referendum, scheduled for early 1979, will also represent a new stage in the campaign of whipping up chauvinist anti. Québécois sentiments in English Canada. The newest element undermining the federal government's offensive is revelations about illegal activities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and other police agencies. Federal government attempts to quash the parliamentary commission inquiry into these activities show how seriously the federalist forces take this question.
These revelations work to undermine the image of a democratic Canada. And the fact that a good part of these illegal activities occurred in Québec highlights the national oppression of the Québécois within Confederation. In this sense, these revelations help to undermine the federalist offensive in English Canada as well as strengthening nationalist sentiment in Québec.
Secondly, by placing the RCMP on the defensive, these revelations weaken the forces of federal oppression that are most active on a day-to-day level in Québec.
Thirdly, the revelations indicate a profound malaise within the federal state apparatus. Even the opposition parties, after trying at first to turn the scandals to their advantage, pulled back when they saw they might be abusing a pillar of the Canadian state.
The RCMP revelations show the beginning of a very serious crisis of confidence in the federal state at a time when it confronts the worst economic situation since the 1930s and the most serious political crisis since Confederations itself was established.
The offensive against Québec will continue to be the central political question in Canada. The English-Canadian workers movement has the responsibility of contering the government's propaganda and defending Québec against moves by big business and the federal government which undermine Québec's right to selfdetermination.