Forget about French at the Olympics; the line story in Le Devoir is what's likely to have tongues wagging today.
The man who came within a hair's breadth of winning the 1995 referendum says that Quebec needs a "new dream," a "springboard to a new beginning," because "sovereignty is not achievable."
The former Quebec premier is quoted by the paper as follows: "It's plain as day that Pauline Marois does not want to hold a referendum. She knows that the time is not right. The people don't want one in the short term, which means several years."
The report goes on to note: Mr. Bouchard is convinced that he will not see another referendum in his lifetime. He's still a sovereigntist, but it's become a hypothetical question and not a solution to Quebec's problems.
He says that Quebec must "shake off its slumber" and deal with the real obstacles to its development such as its high drop-out rate, underfunding of universities and subsidized electricity rates.
He's opposed to banning the burqa in public places and criticized the PQ for wanting to replace the ADQ and fill its radical niche. "I think back to René Lévesque. René Lévesque, was a man of generosity. ... He wasn't fearful of immigrants. ... He was in favour of an open, humanist society."
Bouchard says that the only limit on reasonable accommodation is when it conflicts with gender equality.
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Update Not surprisingly, Québec sovereigntists - especially members of Lucien Bouchard's former party, the PQ - are piling on their former leader and premier for his negative comments last night about their dream project.
But the reaction I'm waiting for is that of Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe - who was recruited personally by Mr. Bouchard and became the Bloc's first elected MP in 1990 (though he sat as an Independent at first). And, as we know, when Mr. Bouchard de-camped Ottawa to fight the fight in Québec, it was Mr. Duceppe who succeeded him and who's kept the "temporary" party in business in Ottawa all these years.