Conservative candidate Maxime Bernier acknowledges applause during a Quebec City election rally on October 12, 2008.Reuters
Conservative backbencher Maxime Bernier is launching a scathing critique of the bloated bureaucracy in Quebec and the high debt rate of his home province.
In a speech to be given to Conservative supporters south of Montreal on Friday night, Mr. Bernier argues that Quebec is overly dependent on equalization payments and needs to develop its own sources of revenues.
While Quebeckers have spent decades debating the possibility of Quebec becoming an independent country, he says, "we've built a system of economic dependence that's become more and more elaborate."
"Let's be frank: many people in the rest of the country perceive Quebeckers as a bunch of spoiled children who are never satisfied and always ask for more," he says. "This perception has some basis in reality."
The strong language is designed to turn heads in Conservative circles all over Canada, as Mr. Bernier tries to use his current stay in the Harper government's penalty box to build the foundation for his long-term political career.
The Beauce MP suffered a major downfall when he was fired as minister of foreign affairs in 2008, after his confidential briefing papers ended up in the hands of his one-time girlfriend, Julie Couillard.
Mr. Bernier has since taken strong stances on issues such as the environment and global warming, aiming to bolster his image as an "ideas-guy" and an independent thinker. Some of his current supporters say that Mr. Bernier "is positioning himself as an unavoidable figure" in Canadian politics, regardless of what happens in the near term.
In his latest speech, Mr. Bernier argues that the Quebec government needs to change its approach, as part of a decentralized federation.
"Imagine if, instead of exerting ourselves to get more money from the rest of Canada, we aimed at something more positive: to become sufficiently rich that we're not on the receiving end of the equalization program anymore. Would we not be prouder as Quebecers if this happened?" he says.
"Imagine if, instead of pointlessly debating the merits of political independence, we tried instead to live within our means and to get out of our economic dependence."
(File photo: Reuters)