‘Building a Socialist Party in Quebec’
Joel Bergman Speaks Out Against the Province’s Economic System
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Students and workers are paying for the mistakes of multinational corporations, said Joel Bergman, a member of upstart political party Quebec Solidaire and the International Marxist Tendency.
Speaking to a crowd of 10 people at McGill University’s Trottier building, Bergman claimed that Quebecers are being forced to give up free public services and affordable university tuition to finance the losses the province incurred during the 2008 economic crisis.
“Basically what the government is saying is that [major corporations] have caused this crisis, but the rest of [the working class] have to pay for it,” he said.
The event, entitled “Quebec Solidaire: Building a Socialist Party in Quebec,” was hosted by the Socialist Society at McGill alongside the IMT.
After a brief welcome from Hariyanto Darmawan, a Socialist Society board member, Joel Bergman took the floor.
Bergman cited Jean Charest’s latest budget as proof of his argument. Tuition increases, the abolition of free healthcare and a rise in hydro fees were all touched upon as examples of how the provincial government’s policies allegedly harm the working class.
While serving as the prime example, Bergman didn’t single out the Liberals as the only culprit.
“Quebec has three parties that all agree on the same things: raising tuition, privatizing healthcare and doing whatever it takes to remain competitive in the global market,” he said.
Bergman explained that Quebec Solidaire, a party founded in 2006, is currently taking propositions for their upcoming platform. The ideas will be tabled and fleshed out at the party’s upcoming General Assembly on Nov. 27.
“Quebec Solidaire exists to propose an alternative vision for Quebec; we represent students and the working class,” explained Bergman. “We are here to decide what that vision is.”
With that, the floor was left wide open. Topics of socializing domestic work and universal daycare dominated the majority of the discussion. While several ideas arose, no concrete plans were determined— solutions were left vague.
“We need to take control of society and take the economy out of their hands and put it in everyone’s hands,” said Fehr Marouf, who attended the discussion.
This article originally appeared in Volume 31, Issue 14, published November 16, 2010.
