The politics of convenience in Quebec

MONDAY MORNING EDITORIAL — The Parti Quebecois has an interesting definition of democracy.

Several PQ candidates are fretting about the possibility that too many short-term residents — specifically, university students — will be allowed to vote in the upcoming Quebec election. They just might “steal” the election from true Quebecers, they say. It is, they say, a threat to democracy.

In order to vote in Quebec, you must be at least 18 years of age, a Canadian citizen and have lived there for a minimum of six months.

As a comparison, to vote in a B.C., you must be at least 18 years of age, a Canadian citizen and have lived here for a minimum of six months.

So what’s the problem? Obviously, some Pequistes are worried that a certain demographic — namely students attending university from other provinces — won’t vote for them.

This is almost too absurd for words. It is a huge assumption, first of all, that a particular demographic will vote a certain way, and outrageous that it should be considered unqualified based on that assumption.

Would these PQ candidates be complaining if they were confident that students would vote for them? Not likely.

The real threat to democracy is the idea that you shouldn’t be allowed to vote if you were born somewhere else and aren’t a “true” Quebecer.

Imagine if, in a B.C. election, university students were disenfranchised — even though they fulfill the long-standing criteria for voting here — because the party in power was convinced they weren’t supporters, or even that they simply weren’t “true” British Columbians.

This issue with students living in Quebec is little more than the politics of convenience.