When all is said and done, the quality of life of Québecers will greatly diminish compared to that of neighboring western provinces if the status quo persists. The ADQ is the only political party that is proposing today, as it has in the past, to set aside funds not only for debt service, but also to pay down the capital.

In the long run, such an approach will address the question of intergenerational fairness by avoiding the imposition of financial hardship on future generations. Moreover, it is necessary to reduce the number of public employees. In 2005, the citizens of Québec find themselves with a civil service that is too large for the government to finance, and still more problematically, with a welfare state that has created rather than alleviated dependence upon the federal government.

Conclusion

Contemporary challenges require that Québecers, and also Canadians, set aside perpetual and unproductive constitutional squabbles. Confronted with globalization, there simply are better things to do.

Québec and Canada are admired and recognized around the world for tolerance, peace, and respect for diversity. Both enjoy a rich, immense territory as well as an educated and innovative population accustomed to pluralism and democratic discourse. These values must serve as a foundation for constitutional and inter-governmental relations.

Québec, like the rest of the Canadian provinces, has a duty to ensure the collective welfare of its citizens. Demographic shock, spiraling public debt, paralysis of the public health care system, and Québec’s undeveloped hydroelectric potential call on Québec to undertake a major societal debate. Québecers must leave behind the past dogmas of “yes” and “no” to create a Québec whose future is as prosperous as its past.