Who we are

Orientations and Platform

Québec solidaire was born in 2006, when the Option citoyenne political movement and the Union des Forces progressistes political party joined forces to defend the collective interests of Québecers above those of a privileged minority. Québec solidaire continues to be guided by these founding values and principles in all of its actions.

More updated information (2008-2012) can be view in the French section here.

A party for social change, in a changing Québec

Our party has been built on the solid, combined political traditions of community involvement, collegial political deliberation, and democratic decision making. Québec solidaire and its candidates seeks to reflect these principles in Québec politics, be it on the campaign trail, in public debates, or at a grass-roots level, lending our support while respecting the autonomy of individuals and progressive movements in the causes they champion. Together, with all Québecers, we want to build a society based on justice, equality, and solidarity.

Our Principles

Québec solidaire is the progressive alternative to other parties in Québec politics. Our roots have begun to grow deep and wide in every region of the province and our initiatives are bringing people of all backgrounds together. We want to build our future based on socially responsible ideals. And Québec solidaire is the political party with the expertise and determination to bring our ideals to fruition for the women and men of Québec.

Québec solidaire is devoted to defending our collective well-being. We recognize the profound interdependency of humans on each other and on nature, and we want to devote substantial resources to establishing environmental balance, equality, social justice, and respect for our individual and collective rights. To this end, Québec solidaire’s policy positions are clearly set out in our platform and backed by solid budget calculations.

For our party, fostering this kind of deep change within Québec means standing up to companies and demanding that they become responsible corporate citizens. It means having the courage to raise the bar with powerful interest groups and negotiating intelligently in the public interest. We will work for a better deal for everyone because we believe that our communities, our planet, and our future are not negotiable commodities.

Most importantly, we believe that changing the orientation of our political institutions is possible. Our party is proud of its platform of solid commitments which call for government policies to promote equality, environmental integrity, civil liberties, solidarity, justice, and peace. Good ideas are contagious. And by promoting robust, workable ideas for the future that reflect our values and principles now, we know that we are helping to build a better Québec for ourselves, our families, and our children.

Collegial leadership

Every component in our political party is based on highly democratic principles. Overall orientations are collectively ratified at our conventions, which are held every two years. Between conventions, Québec solidaire convenes a National Council to make interim decisions twice every year. The orientations that are passed during these conventions and in QS National Council meetings are implemented by the Coordinating Committee, which is made up of 16 people who also manage the party’s activities.

Instead of having one party leader, Québec solidaire has two spokespersons, who participate in the decision-making process within the Coordinating Committee. This work takes place in a collegial atmosphere, where the party’s spokespersons participate on an equal footing with the other elected members of the Committee.

Our history

Where did Québec solidaire come from?

Québec solidaire is the result of a merger that took place between the Union des forces progressistes party and the Option citoyenne political movement. Founded in 2002, the UFP was the culmination of a merger process that took place between Rassemblement pour une alternative progressiste, the Socialist Democratic Party, and the Communist Party of Québec. During the 2003 election, the UFP ran 75 candidates in Québec and won 1.5% of votes, overall. In some ridings, results varied between 5% and 7%, with particularly encouraging results in the Mercier riding of Montréal, where 18% of electors voted UFP. As the ranks of the UFP continued to grow, the party’s platform expanded to include issues such as health care, taxation, education, and the fight against poverty.

In May 2004, the Option citoyenne movement was launched. This political movement brought together approximately 100 people at its foundation, with a predominantly female membership. After touring Québec in the summer of 2004, Option citoyenne’s membership mushroomed, and its first Québec-wide meeting was held in November 2004. This meeting, to be followed by two more, established Option citoyenne’s political orientations about issues that included feminism, globalization, the economy, sovereignty, and relations with Aboriginal peoples. From its inception, Option citoyenne expressed its interest in discussing a possible merger with the UFP.

In December 2004, meetings and negotiations about the merger of the two groups began, and continued throughout 2005. By the fall of 2005, each political entity had decided at their respective conventions to ratify the merger. The historic convention of 1,000 activists that was to follow marked the foundation of Québec solidaire. Held on February 3, 4, and 5 at Université de Montréal, this merger of two political traditions was hailed as a resounding success by all.

A few months later, at a policy convention, held on November 26 and 27, 2006, Québec solidaire adopted its political platform. The tenets of this democratically ratified platform drew their inspiration from positions taken by the two former political entities, and from the Women’s Global Charter for Humanity, which collectively called on governments to adopt policies to promote equality, environmental integrity, civil liberties, solidarity, justice, and peace. Attending QS members from a variety of backgrounds throughout Québec took the floor sharing their specialized and wide-ranging expertise, proposing socially balanced inspired party policies. The result was a Québec solidaire Platform that reflected the deeply held convictions and bold democratic initiatives of its membership.

The tradition of broad-based involvement established by Québec solidaire’s members continues to this day. Our alternative approach to political activism, social change adapted to family-positive lifestyles, and responsible governance for a healthier living environment continues to inspire and attract new members. As our membership continues to flourish, our simple message for all Québecers remains the same: Stand up and make your voice heard.

Make your vote count. Make people count. Vote Québec solidaire.

What’s happening now?

2006-2007 Archive: Our 25 Commitments

[Français] - [Español document PDF Adobe Acrobat Reader ] - [العربية ] - [Italiano ]

as adopted at a special convention, held in Montréal from November 24 to 26, 2006.

(See also Declaration of principles document PDF Adobe Acrobat Reader below)

PROTECTING OUR ENVIRONMENT TOGETHER

Commitment 1:
Making wind power work for everyone

To reassert the government of Québec’s role as the central decision maker in the control and distribution of energy in Québec, Québec solidaire will:

Nationalize the wind power industry, just as the government of Québec did with Hydro-Québec. A Québec solidaire government will found Éole-Québec, a publicly held company that will become the driving force for development in this industry. The government will be jointly responsible for developing Éole-Québec along with local and regional bodies (managed according to the principles of participatory democracy), and with Aboriginal peoples. All parties will be responsible for the application of new projects in accordance with the outcome of public consultations and may retain an equitable share of the resulting proceeds; and
Reinstate Hydro-Québec’s original mandate: To provide electricity to all citizens of Québec at the lowest possible cost.

Commitment 2:
Practising responsible forestry

Québec solidaire will establish local forestry committees as not-for-profit organizations that will be in charge of the ecosystemic management of the public forest and whose management plans will be approved by the government. The government of Québec will receive remittances, will monitor forest operations, and will promote the transformation of the forestry economy to add greater value in forestry products.

Québec solidaire will convene an Estates General to investigate the status of Québec’s forests.

Commitment 3:
Changing transportation and reaching Kyoto Objectives

Québec solidaire will invest massively in public transit and in energy efficiency programs with the goal of effectively combating climate change and surpassing the objectives set out in the Kyoto Protocol. QS will also promote the use of renewable energy over fossil fuels.

Commitment 4:
Protecting water

Québec solidaire will equip the government of Québec with the legal means to ensure that water is protected in all of its forms by entrenching it in the Québec Civil Code as a res publica. (1)

Commitment 5:
Adopting new approaches to agriculture

Québec solidaire will apply the following transition measures to aid in establishing new approaches to agriculture:

Mandatory labelling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and a moratorium on farming GMOs;
Increased support to producers of organic and locally produced foods; and
A system of environmental investment credits for farmers whose use green technologies.

(1) Res publica means “public thing” in Latin and refers to what individuals in a community hold in common or place above their self interest.

BUILDING TOGETHER

Commitment 6:
Increasing government revenue and introducing tax reforms

Québec solidaire will increase government revenue and introduce tax reforms for personal and corporate income tax. More specifically, QS will:

Re-establish a fiscal balance between private companies and individual tax payers by increasing corporate tax contributions for government financing;
Increase the number of income brackets for individual tax payers;
Enact legislation to prevent tax avoidance or tax evasion;
Tax 100% of capital gains and dividends;
Lower RRSP investment ceilings;
Improve control over tax deductions; and
Reform the Québec sales tax (QST) so that it may be adjusted to support initiatives that encourage a more environmentally sound use of goods and resources while discouraging practices that have a negative impact on the environment. Under these adjustments, the QST will be significantly lower on essential goods, whereas it will be higher on luxury items.

Commitment 7:
Repealing anti-union laws

Québec solidaire will repeal anti-union laws (2) and thereby create conditions conducive to real negotiations with the public sector. Moreover (in full compliance with the terms of International Labour Organization Convention C87), QS will support the right and access to union organizing in other economic sectors, particularly those in which women are predominantly employed.
Québec solidaire will also allow for multi-employer unionization by reforming the Labour Code.

Commitment 8:
Prohibiting disparities in treatment based on labour status

Québec solidaire will prohibit disparities in the treatment of employees based on their labour status. When it is not possible to offer specific benefits to employees in unstable jobs, equalizing compensation will be paid to them. Québec solidaire will also ensure that salary equity continues to be applied and more widely implemented.

Commitment 9:
Supporting a social economy

Québec solidaire will support the development of a social economy, based on three main approaches:

Encouraging investment in these businesses based a workers’ solidarity fund investment model;
Promoting the acquisition by governments and public administrations of fair trade, environmentally responsible products from social economy suppliers; and
Increasing accessibility to the services offered by social economy businesses, using relevant models drawn from some childcare centres.

Commitment 10:
Extending vacation periods

Québec solidaire will extend vacation periods from three weeks, after one year of work, to five weeks, after five years of work, and will initiate a comprehensive public consultation regarding a reduced work week.(2) More specifically, Bill 7 (which amended the Act respecting health services and social services), 8 (which amended the Act respecting childcare centres and childcare services), 30 (which imposed a reorganization of bargaining units in the health and social services sector), 31 (which amended Articles 45 and 46 of the Labour Code), and 142 (which imposed work conditions on public sector employees, by decree).

LIVING TOGETHER

Commitment 11:
Reinforce the Act to Combat Poverty and Exclusion

Québec solidaire will apply and immediately reinforce the Act to Combat Poverty and Exclusion. More specifically, QS will:

Progressively increase minimum wage to $10 per hour, annually indexing it to the cost of living. Appropriate support will be provided to independent small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), not-for-profit organizations, and cooperatives to implement this measure;
Increase welfare benefits, with the goal of covering all essential needs. A Québec solidaire government will immediately increase all benefits to the level currently received by persons with severe limitations to employment. These benefits will be safeguarded as “untouchable” and indexed to the cost of living. Alimony payments will not be subtracted from welfare benefits;
Repeal the mandatory RAMQ eligibility waiting time applied to new arrivals to Québec;
Lift the legal prohibition on bankruptcy applicable to Québec citizens who were formerly students and cannot repay their loans; and
Enact legislation or any other measures required to combat the problems of housing and homelessness, most notably by funding the construction of 8,000 social housing units per year, which will be built according to ecologically sound standards (4,000 per year, if there is no investment from the federal government);

Québec solidaire will consult the public regarding various options to reduce poverty in a sustainable and respectful fashion. On such measure could be to institute a guaranteed minimum income for Québec citizens;

QS will bring pressure to bear upon the federal government to expand Employment Insurance eligibility criteria to include all contributing wage earners.

Commitment 12:
Getting healthcare when we need it, close to home

Québec solidaire will invest in healthcare to better meet the needs of the population by:

Consolidating the role, the capacity, and the quality of neighbourhood healthcare and social services, especially home care services;
Bringing all possible resources to bear in order to provide more timely universal access to healthcare and social services; and
Preventing the privatization of healthcare and a two-tier healthcare system.

Commitment 13:
Founding Pharma-Québec

Québec solidaire will found Pharma-Québec, a public body that will manage pharmaceutical acquisition, research, and production in order to control rising healthcare costs, advance Québec’s scientific potential, and innovate in the field of medications.

Commitment 14:
Promoting a Québec-wide campaign to redress violence against women

Québec solidaire will draft and implement a policy to redress violence against women, and will:

Introduce legislation and other measures to combat violence against women;
Initiate an awareness-raising campaign on violence against women, equipped with adequate resources (E.g., the Government of Québec’s campaign against smoking); and
Provide financial support to groups working in the field of violence against women.

Commitment 15:
Supporting our indispensable community organizations

Québec solidaire will recognize the indispensable role of community organizations within their various communities, will respect their organizational autonomy, and will increase funding for their basic mandates.

Commitment 16:
Enacting an anti-SLAPP law

Québec solidaire will ensure that an anti-SLAPP (3) law is enacted to prohibit abusive lawsuits undertaken against citizens’ groups.
(3) Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation

GROWING TOGETHER

Commitment 17:
Introducing a comprehensive family policy

Québec solidaire will prepare a comprehensive, feminist family policy that recognizes the educational role that parents play, a role still predominantly taken on by women. This policy will introduce:

A universal parental allowance benefit;
Family and housekeeping assistance proportionally adjusted to household income;
Measures to support workforce reintegration for people who have been off of the job market for a prolonged period of time; and
Economic and social recognition for the work of family caregivers (informal or “natural” caregivers).

Commitment 18:
Improving accessibility to education

Québec solidaire will progressively reduce the number of students per classroom, at all levels of education.

Subsidies to private establishments and tuition fees will be progressively phased out and complementary resources will be added, with the goal of providing every Québec student with free, public, secular, quality education.

Québec solidaire will hire specialized employees in each school commission to provide satisfactory services to students with learning or adjustment difficulties.

QS will eliminate student indebtedness and will reform the Aide financière aux études system in consultation with the student movement so that it meets their needs.

Under a Québec solidaire government, all Aide financière aux études programs will be integrated into an entirely public system and student debt will be considered as part of individual net worth so that it may be included in calculations pertaining to cases of personal bankruptcy.

Commitment 19:
Protecting the French language

The status of French as the language of work, education, and public communication will be consolidated by:

Providing the Office de la langue française with the means to effectively enforce Bill 101;
Offering free courses for basic French language acquisition and upgrading for newcomers to Québec, Anglophones, and Aboriginal peoples, supported by financial incentives; and
Instituting official leave periods for language training, which will be jointly financed by both the government and employers.

Commitment 20:
Establishing a social safety net for artists

Québec solidaire will draft a proposal to establish a social safety net for Québec artists.

Commitment 21:
Implementing a policy against homophobia

Québec solidaire will adopt and implement a pro-active policy against homophobia by developing appropriate programs and by allocating correspondingly appropriate resources. Moreover, QS will reinforce, finance, and duly empower the initiatives, investigations, and pro-active measures undertaken against sexism, racism, and homophobia by the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse.

Commitment 22:
Supporting childcare centres

Québec solidaire will review Bill 124 (the legislation that reorganized the management of childcare services), and will develop the childcare centre network by offering services adapted to the needs of families and communities.

GOVERNING TOGETHER

Commitment 23:
Electing a Constituent Assembly

During its first mandate, Québec solidaire will set out to achieve sovereignty in Québec by holding a general election to establish a Constituent Assembly. This body for public consultation will be representative of the broad spectrum of political positions held by Québecers, providing equal representation for men and women, for all of the regions, and for the diversity of citizens that make up Québec’s cultural communities. The Constituent Assembly will be charged with two mandates:

First, it will set up a participative democratic process through which it will consult the population of Québec on its political and constitutional future, and on related values and political institutions;
Then, based on the results of this initiative (which will be made public and by which the Constituent Assembly will be bound in its subsequent course of action), it will propose the changes to be made to our political institutions. It will further establish both the values fundamental to “Living Together” in Québec (to appear in a future constitution) and a vision for the constitutional future of Québec. The Constituent Assembly’s proposals will be submitted to Québecers in the form of a referendum, which will address two distinct issues: the political and constitutional future of Québec; and a Québec constitution.

Commitment 24:
Reforming the voting system

Québec solidaire will adopt a voting system largely based on a proportional approach, establishing a regular date for elections, and ensuring equal representation in the National Assembly for men and women, as well as improved representation for minorities and people from the ethno-cultural communities of Québec.

Commitment 25:
Respecting Aboriginal nations’ ancestral rights and the right to self-determination

Québec solidaire will recognize the right of Aboriginal nations to self-determination and will ensure that their inalienable ancestral rights are respected. To honour this commitment, Québec solidaire will table a motion before the National Assembly supporting the United Nation’s Declaration on the Rights of Aboriginal Peoples when it is presented to the UN General Assembly later this year (2007). Moreover, Québec solidaire will support initiatives by Aboriginal persons living outside of reserves to improve their living conditions.

A Québec solidaire government will establish people-to-people relations with the 11 Aboriginal nations living within the territory of Québec. Through nation-to-nation negotiations, QS will facilitate access to resources and territories belonging to Québec that would provide Aboriginal nations with the means to achieve their autonomy. In addition, through financial assistance and other means, Québec solidaire will lend its steadfast support to the initiatives of Aboriginal women to ensure that their fundamental rights are respected.

What’s happening now?

When Québec solidaire was founded, the total number of members from both the UFP and Option citoyenne came to 4,000. Since that time, party membership has grown appreciably and continues to include and welcome people from a diversity of backgrounds, from regions across the province. Québec solidaire will continue to participate in any forum where the political, economic, social, environmental, and cultural future of Québec is concerned. QS members and candidates are equally committed to promoting the party’s principles in their workplaces, their social movements, and their communities.

More and more Québecers who are becoming increasingly concerned about irresponsible business practices, ineffectual, dangerous environmental policies, and government initiatives that have deepened the divide between rich and poor are discovering Québec solidaire. Québec solidaire believes in electing the government we truly deserve. A responsible government that will have the courage to implement green, carefully budgeted, progressive change. A government that will build a better Québec for everyone.