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Sarkozy’s other federalist friend in Quebec

By VAN FERRIER, kanopi media and communications

Canadian newspapers are awash with coverage of the fallout from French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent remarks about Quebec’s sovereignty movement. Sarkozy made the remarks in February when he met with Quebec Premier Jean Charest to present him with the Legion of Honour – one of France’s highest awards. Pundits have weighed in on Sarkozy’s  fedearlist leanings and the terse response from Bloc Québecois leader Gilles Duceppe and Parti Québecois chief Pauline Marois.

But few took notice of a similarly significant moment in Quebec-France relations in January when Sarkozy invited Quebec’s lone federal NDP member of Parliament Thomas Mulcair to his Presidential residence for a dinner meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Nobel Laureate in Economics Joseph Stiglitz to discuss the current economic crsis.

The meeting should be particularly interesting to Greens as it demonstrates how a single successful electoral result can lead to high-level policy engagement. In 2007, the NDP identified Outremont as a winnable federal riding and seized the right moment to mobilize party resources. Now it has a federal seat in Quebec and a seat at the table in world affairs.

Mulcair was the NDP’s not-so-secret weapon to bust through the Bloc-Liberal-Conservative lock on Quebec in the 2007 Outremont by-election where the Liberal incumbent in the hotly contested and multicultural Montreal riding resigned from politics. As Quebec’s Environment Minister under Liberal Premier Jean Charest, Mulcair became a household name in previous years by standing up to his boss opposing the sale of a provincial park and the construction of a natural gas plant near Montreal.

Never mind the Greens were nowhere to be seen in the by-election. The federal party’s decision to effectively run a ‘paper’ candidate (no signs or support) was an improvement over the 2006 by-election opportunity in the Montreal area when the Greens failed to file candidate papers to Elections Canada in Repentigny. Coupled with the missed opportunity to make gains in Quebec in the last federal election, this should be an indication that the Green Party should define a solid Quebec strategy before stepping into the limelight.

Moving forward, the Green Party ought to pay closer attention to how its European cousins came to positions of power and influence through coalition-style governments. As lead spokesperson for last year’s Liberal-NDP-(tacit Bloc) coalition, Thomas Mulcair was able to show off his foothold in Quebec and his ability to work with other politicians despite ideological differences.

Similarly the Green Party ought to work more cooperatively (rather than competitively) with opposition parties. Long-time social justice activist Amir Khadir built upon the momentum of Muclair’s Outremont victory to win Québec Solidaire’s first seat in the Quebec’s National Assembly in 2008 by taking a neighbouring provincial riding.

With Quebec provincial politics at the point of saturation, Quebec Greens might take a hint from the more successful BC Greens who have built upon municipal victories to attract better candidates and demonstrate the value of the Green Party’s decentralized policy foundation. The promise of local renewable energy production and distribution, stimulus for community economic development, fair trade networks as well as community banking are key components of any strategy to weather the current economic crisis and reduce Canada’s impact on climate change. These are the kinds of policy contributions the Green Party can bring to Canadian society and start to do so at the municipal level.

Just as Mulcair built upon his record and reputation as provincial Environment Minister, the Green Party may begin building credibility among Canadian voters at the local level while building the credibility of a coalition-style government by working more cooperatively with provincial and federal parties already in government.

What was Mulcair doing in Paris with Sarkozy and company? He wasn’t just glad-handing and receiving accolades like his former boss, Mr. Charest, one month later. He had been invited to offer his insight on banking reform and policy prescriptions to cope with the current global economic crisis that has taken Europe by storm. While it remains to be seen whether his federalist approach will connect with voters throughout Quebec and whether his party has the policy depth to offer Canadians an ecologically responsible plan for the future, Mulcair has shown politics is as much about good strategy as it is about good policy.

Van Ferrier is a communications consultant based in Montreal and former Policy Development Coordinator for the Green Party of Canada.