Translating the printemps érable

Serge Petitclerc, spokesperson for the Collective for a Poverty-Free Quebec 

July 10, 2012 

Original French Text: http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/actualites-en-societe/354207/greve-etudiante-a-contestation-sociale

What began as a student strike has become in the space of several weeks a powerful social protest movement. How did this happen? The imposition of a special law restricting Quebeckers’ freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly certainly had something to do with it. But Bill 78, abusive as it might be, isn’t the only explanation. The indignation of a large part of the population was lurking just beneath the surface.

Over the past 30 years, in particular since the mid 1990s, Quebec’s public institutions have undergone a major transformation. Their contribution to the common good has been increasingly diverted to serve the private accumulation of wealth. In the name of “zero deficit,” the “re-engineering of the state,” or the “cultural revolution,” we’ve seen the imposition of policies leading to increased poverty (such as the health tax) and cuts to public services. It seems nothing is safe anymore from the neoliberal “logic,” its state of permanent crisis and its user-payer model.

By situating the tuition-hike protest within a larger context that includes issues like social mobility, debt, the redistribution of wealth, and the privatization and commodification of public services, the students have shed light on neoliberalism’s disastrous impact on many aspects of collective life. Their critique of the tuition increase has brought the very foundations of the neoliberal model into full view.

Their grievances resonate not only among the poor and the middle class, whose standard of living has gradually diminished under the wave of neoliberal reform, but also among the wealthier classes, who regard social inequality as a serious problem that must be addressed.

Meanwhile, the Occupy movement has found new vigour in Quebec by rallying to the student cause. Beyond tuition fees, solutions must be found that can respond to the dissatisfaction of a population increasingly aware of the plundering of the common good by the economic elite and the vicious circle of neoliberal tactics employed since the crisis of 2008.

One example clearly illustrates the unjust and indecent influence of neoliberalism. While 750,000 people in Quebec lack the means to cover their basic needs, the government is preparing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in northern road construction so mining industry multinationals can amass even more wealth.  

The present social crisis demonstrates that a large segment of the population wants to live in a society that aspires to equality. Increasing the revenue of people living in poverty, guaranteeing access to quality public services (including higher education), and reducing the gap between the rich and the poor are some of the best ways to achieve that goal. Inevitably, sooner or later, we’re going to have to rethink the social and fiscal pact between citizens and the state.

Will the government willingly commit to such an undertaking? Not likely. But, as workers, students, the unemployed, the retired, rural and urban residents, men and women, it is up to us to demand it of them. Clearly, we have a long battle ahead of us, but we will win.

Together.

***



Serge Petitclerc, spokesperson for the Collective for a Poverty-Free Quebec 

***

Translated from the original French by Translating the printemps érable.

*Translating the printemps érable is a volunteer collective attempting to balance the English media’s extremely poor coverage of the student conflict in Québec by translating media that has been published in French into English. These are amateur translations; we have done our best to translate these pieces fairly and coherently, but the final texts may still leave something to be desired. If you find any important errors in any of these texts, we would be very grateful if you would share them with us at translatingtheprintempsderable@gmail.com. Please read and distribute these texts in the spirit in which they were intended; that of solidarity and the sharing of information.