Lucien Bouchard
See also: Bouchard
honourable the Lucien Bouchard , C.P., B.Sc, LL.B, LL.D (hon.) (Saint-Heart-of-Marie, Quebec, December 20th, 1938 -) is a lawyer and politician Québécois. Federal minister for the Environment within the government progressist-conservative of Brian Mulroney, it was one of the founders and the first chief of the Québécois Bloc. It was also Chef of the Opposition to the House of Commons with Ottawa (of 1993 - 1996) and Prime Minister for Quebec from January 29th, 1996 to March 8th, 2001. Lastly, he is the brother of the historian Gerard Bouchard and holder of the title of Commandeur of the French Légion of honor.
Biography
Origins
Lucien Bouchard finishes his studies with the traditional College of Jonquière in 1959 and obtains a Baccalauréat in social sciences and a diploma in Droit of the Université Laval in 1964. He is allowed later with the Barreau of Quebec this same year and becomes lawyer.
He practices the right to Chicoutimi until in 1985, while receiving several mandates of the Gouvernement of Quebec during the years: chair committee of arbitration for the sector of education (1970 with 1976), prosecutor as a chief for the commission of work and industry (Cliche commission - 1974 with 1975), copresident of the commission of study on the sectors public and parapublic (Martin-Bouchard commission - 1975). He works then as coordinator or member of several special teams for the government in the negotiations with the Syndicat S of the public sector.
Beginning of political career and diplomatic
The relation of Lucien Bouchard with the policy is complex: it was affiliated during the years with different political parties preaching extremely different ideologies, going until founding one, the Québécois Bloc of them.
Lucien Bouchard was a nationalist inhabitant of Quebec during all his political career; its convictions as a federalistic Canadian or Québécois souverainist varied. He works for the Liberal party of Quebec at the time of the countryside of 1970, but is deeply shaken by the events of the Crise of October, especially by the imposition by the Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau of the Loi of measurements of war. At the same time, he is a large admiror of the Québécois Prime Minister Rene Lévesque, and takes later the practice to quote Lévesque in his speeches.
Lucien Bouchard works for the option of the " Oui" at the time of the Referendum of 1980 in Quebec. In 1985, it is named Ambassadeur Canada in France by the Prime Minister of Canada Brian Mulroney, a close friend whom it had met with the Université Laval. It joint with the government progressist-conservative of Mulroney in 1988 as Secretary of State and later minister of environment, and is useful until in 1990. While remaining a strong Québécois nationalist, he believes that the Accord of the lake Meech proposed by Mulroney would be sufficient so that the Quebec remains in the Canadian Confédération.
However, after a commission directed by Jean Charest recommended to make modifications to the agreement, Lucien Bouchard leaves the progressist-conservatives. Mulroney feels betrayed by Bouchard and rejects its reasoning, having heard of a friend that it had planned to leave before the Commission Report.
Resignation and new party
Like several other preserving deputies of Quebec, Lucien Bouchard is dissatisfied compromises intended to soften the positions of the recalcitrant provinces of Manitoba and Newfoundland of the Charest report/ratio - which will be made public on May 17th. Considering that such compromises are unacceptable, Bouchard decides to break with his/her old friend Brian Mulroney and to make public her dissidence.According to the biographer of Jacques Parizeau, the journalist Pierre Duchesne, Lucien Bouchard asks David Cliche, candidate pequist demolishes in the district of Vimont and wire of Robert Cliche, to transmit to Jacques Parizeau an offer of bringing together.
May 14th, the emissary of Bouchard meets Jacques Parizeau to announce to him that the minister of environment of Canada, which takes part in a conference in Europe, wishes to send a message which will be read publicly in front of the leaders of the Québécois Party brought together with Alma, almost ten years day for day after the referendum of 1980.
May 19th, 1990, Parizeau reads it telegram with the 200 militants pequists joined together at the Regional center of physical education and sports of Alma. Recalling the frankness, pride and the generosity of YES that we then defended, around Rene Lévesque and of his team , the text of Bouchard insists on the vision of Rene Lévesque, which made discover with the Inhabitants of Quebec the inalienable right decide themselves of their destiny. . The reading of the telegram of Bouchard by Jacques Parizeau will raise a shock wave in the Canadian and mad political world Brian Mulroney, which learns the news with the radio. He resigns of his post of minister and the preserving caucus to sit as an independent deputy, on May 22nd, 1990.
After the failure of Meech, Lucien Bouchard is joined by several preserving colleagues and liberal of Quebec which will found the Québécois Bloc, a party souverainist.
The Parti Québécois makes countryside for the Block at the time of the federal election of 1993 in order to prepare Quebec for sovereignty, according to the strategy of three periods of the chief pequist Jacques Parizeau. At the time of this election, the Québécois Block gains 54 of the 75 Québécois districts. The Block having gained the second greater number of seats in this election, Lucien Bouchard becomes the first Chef of the independence Opposition.
In December 1994, it must be amputee of a leg because of a necrosing Fasciite, becoming possibly the most famous victim of this rare disease. It made its rehabilitation with the Institut of readjustment of Montreal.
Referendum on sovereignty
See also: Referendum of 1995 in Quebec
June 13rd, 1995, Lucien Bouchard signs, as a leader of the Québécois Block, a tripartite agreement with the chief of the Québécois Party, Jacques Parizeau, and the chief of the democratic Action of Quebec, Mario Dumont. This agreement establishes the way of the referendum on independence. Faithful to the convictions of Rene Lévesque, Bouchard convinces Parizeau to include a plan of association with the Canada in the chief clerk question. Then, it makes countryside with the two other chiefs for the option of Yes. The Prime Minister Jacques Parizeau conducts initially the campaign of Yes, but when the supports with Yes reach a maximum, Lucien Bouchard, then very popular, becomes the semi-official chief of the countryside.
A charismatic, effective and poetic speaker, his popularity increases with his departure of the government and his combat against the disease. The evening of the referendum, the option souverainist receives 49.42% votes cast.
Prime Minister for Quebec
See also: Government Lucien Bouchard
After the defeat of the option souverainist at the time of the referendum of 1995, Jacques Parizeau resigns of his post of Prime Minister for Quebec. Lucien Bouchard resigns as for him of his seat to the common in 1996 and becomes chief of the Québécois Party on January 27th, 1996. He is sworn in Prime Minister for Quebec two days later.
On the question of the sovereignty, Lucien Bouchard declares that because of the absence of gaining conditions - it does not specify nature -, no referendum will be started. One of main concerns of the government Bouchard, regarded as belonging to the gaining conditions, was economic recovery through the deficit zero . Policies keynésiennes in the long run, resulting from the Québécois Modèle developed by old governments as much pequists that liberal, had installed a budgetary deficit substantial. The deficit was eliminated in 1999, one year earlier than envisaged, and maintained after a fashion in spite of expenditure substantially increased under the control surface of the successor of Lucien Bouchard, Bernard Landry .
Nevertheless, economists provide that finances of the government of Quebec will remain an main issue during the next decades, in particular because of the rising costs of the health care, of the refunding of the national Debt, of the ageing of the population, of the important unionization of the workers and the increasing demands for more services . The Québécois economy remain weak relative with those of the remainder of the Canada and the United States , though it made immense progress during the 50 last years. ( The Quebec is the province poorest of Canada in terms of Gross domestic product per capita, by excluding the seaboard provinces. ) The financial reorganization of Lucien Bouchard is regarded as a first step towards the solution of the financial problems of Quebec.
Reprocess
Lucien Bouchard withdraws political life on March 8th, 2001 and is replaced at the station of Prime Minister by Bernard Landry. He declares that its failure to revive the flame souverainist is a cause of his departure, and he takes for it the responsability in a speech for poignant good-bye. Others speculated that the Affaire Michaud, an implying scandal of the allegations of comments anti-semites held by the candidate pequist Yves Michaud, was another factor supporting the departure of Bouchard. Lucien Bouchard, considered as more moderated on the question of the sovereignty than the Prime Ministers preceding pequists, also made vis-a-vis criticisms radicals of his party not to have engaged the province in a third referendum on sovereignty in the course of his mandate, six years after the second.
Return to the practice of the right
Since his withdrawal of the political life, Lucien Bouchard sits at the boards of directors of several organizations (in particular the Symphony orchestra of Montreal) and companies. In April 2004, it took part in the launching of the Center of studies and international research of the University of Montreal.
September 8th, 2005, the Réseau CTV announces by error the death of Lucien Bouchard. The report/ratio is quickly withdrawn. CTV affirmed to have received the information of Radio-Canada; Radio-Canada denied to have emitted this information.
October 19th, 2005, Bouchard and eleven other Québécois personalities of various mediums and political allegiances publish a proclamation entitled For lucid Quebec . The proclamation warns the growing old population of Quebec against the challenges to which it will face in the future, on the plans demographic, economic and cultural. It had a certain influence on the race with the direction of the Québécois Party of 2005, receiving a mitigated reception. It was accepted in other mediums, in the leading page of the newspaper The Globe and Mail for example.
October 5th, 2006, Lucien Bouchard receives a Doctorat Honoris causa of the Faculty of Law of the Université of Montreal.
Assessment
The government of Lucien Bouchard founded certain discussed policies, including cuts in the budget of the fields of the Santé and the Éducation of Quebec in order to balance the provincial budget overdrawn, as well as the fusion of several Québécois municipalities. Some also criticized it not to have started a third process chief clerk during his mandate. Certain pure and hard freedom fighters caused a great wrong to its leadership, in particular because of the strongly decentralized nature of the Québécois Parti. Aspects more appreciated generally of its legacy include/understand the creation of a universal network of on-call services at accessible cost, the creation of Emploi Quebec , Unemployment rate drops some, a going up Québécois economy, and the attack of the balanced budget. One remembers him for his charm, his eloquence and his culture; he was appreciated like a gentleman by his political adversaries and is perceived favorably by several among the Québécois ethnic minorities, as well as the communities Jewish english-speaking and .
May 6th, 2006, the daily newspaper the Duty publishes on first page the results of a survey revealing that half of the Inhabitants of Quebec would support the political comeback of Lucien Bouchard, and that a party carried out by this one to the sides of Mario Dumont would precede by far the Parti Québécois and the Liberal party. Bouchard however affirmed thereafter that the door remained closed with a political comeback active and that, even if it is not retained for advising, of time with other, Mario Dumont, chief of the democratic Action.
Quotations
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“More than ever, it will have to be recalled that the step souverainist is one of generosity, tolerance, and opening. ”
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“the Québécois people has all the assets to cut an enviable place in the concert of the nations. In the only condition of repatriating all its public resources, rather than to disperse them on two conflict faces. ”
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With the referendum of 1995, it had said: “When we awake the shortly after the referendum, we will be people! ” {Speech of Lucien Bouchard of October 25th, 1995}