Graeme Hamilton - When Benoit Pelletier left academia to enter provincial politics in 1998, he was scared -- not by the long hours or heavy responsibility but by the intimidation tactics of his separatist adversaries. It was a time in Quebec when those defending Canadian federalism could find themselves labelled sell-outs or traitors, so many federalists chose to keep to themselves.
"We were intimidated by the perceived strength, or the alleged strength, of the sovereignty movement in Quebec, and we were afraid of being too severely criticized as federalists," Mr. Pelletier, who recently returned to teaching law at the University of Ottawa, recalled in an interview. "There was a fear of rejection in the intellectual milieu."
But now, as the passions stirred by the 1995 sovereignty referendum have cooled, the fear has subsided. A network of academics and professionals, launched this month by La Presse editorial-page editor Andre Pratte, will try to persuade Quebecers that federalism is a noble project and that sovereigntists do not have a monopoly on political dreams. Called L'Idee federale (The Federal Idea), it aims to make federalism the political option that dares speak its name.
The movement began with a 2007 book edited by Mr. Pratte, now available in English as Reconquering Canada: Quebec Federalists Speak Up for Change. In the chapter he wrote, Mr. Pratte laid waste to much of the conventional wisdom that shapes political discourse in the province.
The Conquest brought "undeniable advantages" to French Canada, he argued, and Pierre Trudeau, far from being the "Devil incarnate," did some great things for the province. He appealed to Quebec's three main political parties to shake the notion that defending the "higher interests" of Quebec must involve a clash with the rest of Canada.
"It is this vision, not federalism or the anglophones, that is keeping modern Quebec from making progress, through the stale debates it breeds, and the irresponsibility and the victim complexes it feeds," he wrote.
In an interview this week, Mr. Pratte said reaction to the book revealed an appetite for more information about what federalism really means. "In Quebec we have a view of federalism as being necessarily the status quo and something that doesn't work very well. Many people are comparing it to the idea of independence, which of course is a project, and when you compare reality to any kind of dream or project, the project or dream always comes out the winner."
L'Idee federale, which has about 50 founding members, plans to commission research and invite foreign speakers to examine various aspects of federalism. For example, why is it that such European countries as Italy and Spain are increasingly attracted by the federalist model, and what is the accepted role of a federal government in the funding of culture? Mr. Pratte said he is seeking donors and hopes to have an annual budget of $100,000 to cover the expenses. (He said he will not accept money from companies or governments.)
"The project of Canadians of different origins and regions and languages and cultures coming together to achieve common goals and yet maintaining their differences, we believe that is a worthy goal," Mr. Pratte said.
Mr. Pelletier entered politics with a blueprint for constitutional change, but as intergovernmental affairs minister under Premier Jean Charest he settled for a number of deals with Ottawa that brought Quebec new powers without opening the Constitution. Quebec was granted representation at UNESCO, it was allowed to implement its own parental-leave program and its complaint of a fiscal imbalance was addressed, to name a few.
He warned that it would be wrong for the rest of Canada to interpret the new federalism sales pitch as an embrace of the status quo. "There should be the promotion of federalism, and there should be the promotion of the strengthening of Quebec within the Canadian federation," he said. "Federalism should be an instrument for the whole country to develop itself." His sentiment was echoed by Mr. Pratte. "Outside Quebec, and even in Quebec, many people see a strong federation as having a very centralized, strong federal government. Well, a strong federation is not necessarily a strong federal government. A federation is strong governments at both levels."
Patrice Ryan, a Montreal public-relations executive, tried to launch a think-tank with a similar federalist mission a year ago, but it failed to lift off. Still, he is confident Mr. Pratte's venture, which he has joined, will be successful. The new group's members include nearly 20 university professors and former politicians from the Conservatives, the federal and provincial Liberals and the ADQ. Business members include Marcel Dutil of the Canam Group and Gilbert Rozon, founder of the Just for Laughs comedy festival.
Mr. Ryan, son of the late Claude Ryan, former leader of the provincial Liberals, said the current lull in Quebec politics offers federalists an opportunity. "You can either say the sovereignty movement is weaker and is soul-searching, so this is no time to rock the boat and give them ammunition. The other way to look at is to say, this is a quiet time, a nice opportunity to do a rethink on what the country should look like.... The field is wide open now to do that."
Jean-Francois Lisee, a former advisor to Parti Quebecois premiers and executive director of a Universite de Montreal research centre, thinks members of L'Idee federale have a tough sell. He noted that on the very day the group held its launch, Montreal's Le Devoir newspaper printed a front-page interview with federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff in which he ruled out giving Quebec additional powers.
"All I'm saying is they have a difficult task," Mr. Lisee said. "They can turn around and say that I have a very difficult task and will have a good list of arguments to say that. But at least my task is to try to convince Quebecers that they would be better off independent. It is easier to do, though very difficult, than their task, which is to convince all other Canadians that something should be done for Quebec. That to me seems insurmountable."
Even the new network's inaugural research, an opinion poll of Quebecers' attitudes toward federalism, indicates the climb will be steep. While two-thirds of the respondents agreed that federalism allows Quebecers to benefit from "belonging to a larger group while preserving their cultural specificity," even more, three-quarters, said the system leads to inefficiencies and overlap. Nearly half felt that the federal government was above all at the service of English-Canadians, and close to two-thirds did not realize that Quebecers receive more in federal transfers and equalization than they pay in federal taxes.
"I think what it shows is that Quebecers' support for the federation is still very fragile, because the federation has been under a lot of criticism over the years and not many people have defended it," Mr. Pratte said.