Postcript to the Quebec Elections

Election day in Quebec, June 20, ended with a victory of finance over men, of the dollar over the people.

This is not to say that the victor was in the right and the vanquished in the wrong. Force is not synonymous with justice. The fist of a brute can knock down a good man; but the fist is still that of a brute and the man, though prostrate, doesn't cease to be good.

— But why state so directly that the vote of June 20 was the triumph of finance over the people?

— Because there were two forces on the field; that of Duplessis, accepting the present financial regime, satisfied with the dictatorship of money over people; the other, that of Lapalme, courageous enough to hurl defiance at this financial dictatorship and committing itself to use all the necessary means to the end that whatever is materially feasible and demanded by the people should be made financially possible.

It is the first time in this Province that one of two great political parties ranged itself on the side of humanity against the dictatorship of finance. And this is to the honor of the provincial Liberal party and of its leader, Mr. Lapalme.

— Had such a stand not been taken, if there had been in the arena, as in the past, only two parties, each interested only in seizing powers, we could not say that the victory of one was, more than the other, the victory of finance over the people, for there would have been no struggle of man against finance. It would have been a simple fight between two parties, each equally subject to the financial regime. There would have been no question of man's rights or of finance's dictatorship.

But this year it was different. And for this reason the Social Credit movement of Quebec officially gave its full support to the party led by Mr. Lapalme.

The fact that the majority of parliamentary seats went to the party firmly tied to finance, in no way detracts from the grandeur and the justice of the cause supported by the provincial Liberal party and its allies. It is far better to fall, weapon in hand, fighting for freedom than to be proclaimed victorious in the service of tyranny.

If it had to be done over again with the foreknowledge that the result would be what it has been, the true champions of man against the tyranny of money would take exactly the same stand.

The program of Mr. Lapalme was a program for the family — and certainly it will remain such even if, in the opposition, he is unable to realize it. It is a program of social justice; a program that will make it possible for everyone in this province to lead a decent life — everyone, each family, each individual.

There isn't the slightest doubt that the actual and potential production of this province can assure to each and every citizen all that is necessary for a comfortable life. The only obstacle to the realization of this ideal is a purely financial one, the obstacle of money. To accept this obstacle, which is neither of God nor of nature, is to sacrifice humanity to the money masters. The provincial Liberal party refuses to accept this obstacle. And it is this refusal which they have written into their program and proclaimed from every platform during the electoral campaign.

The Crediters of Quebec who for twenty years in this province have been denouncing the tyranny of money over man, would certainly have been lacking in spirit if they had not plunged into the battle with ardour on the side of Mr. Lapalme's party. It is not in the character of Crediters to be timid; consequently we saw them everywhere at the assemblies of the Liberals, from Hull to Magdalen Islands, and from Abitibi and Roberval to the frontier of the United States.

Though defeated at the polls — whether legally or illegally, by free vote or crooked dealings — the provincial Liberal party remains, with its allies, the champions of the individual's liberty and economic security against the dictatorship of money.

We are happy to render this hommage to the provincial Liberal party, to its chief and his lieutenants. We hope to see them continue on along the road they have chosen. For the fight is not finished.

From the level where we stand, this is not a mere fight between two parties; nor is it uniquely the alliance of two champions of freedom against a political dictotorship. It is more than that. It is the battle of man against financial dictatorship.

This battle is not restricted to the electoral arena only, nor does it last, only two months out of every four years. It is a daily struggle. To be won it requires the line-up of the entire people against a system solidly anchored and strongly guarded. Victory, liberation could change the entire visage of the province and draw the other provinces, the other countries to liberate themselves from the same dictatorship which oppresses us. But such a victory is only possible when a large enough part of the people is educated, convinced, unshakable and active.

It is towards this end that we, the Crediters, work incessantly. And we count on seeing the Provincial Liberals of 1956, work towards the same end, with the same determination, in their own sphere under the guidance of their worthy leader, Georges-Emile Lapalme.

Calumnies, accusations of communism, crypto-communism, of a leaning to communism and other such like charges, were levelled at the Liberals and their allies during the campaign. Diffamatory, anonymous pamphlets some against the Liberals others against the Crediters, concocted in a cell of fascists too cowardly to sign their names to their lies, were spread abroad in the province by the party presently holding power. It adds nothing to the laurels of the winners who profited from these gutter publications. Their faces should redden with shame to reread or even just to remember this dirty litterature which was financed by the party's fattened election fund.

On the other hand, the facts established by the Liberals and the truths proclaimed by the Crediters still remain facts and truths after the election, even as they were during the election campaign.

The political dictatorship of Duplessis, denounced by the Liberals and the Crediters and the other forces of the opposition, the dictatorship of Finance, denounced by the Crediters and the Liberals, remain dictatorships and must be stigmatised and attacked as long as they exist.

The vanquished of June 20, then, can go on repeating all they have said, for what they said still remains true.

It was quite evident during the electoral campaign that the people, those who are in misery and suffer, those who are left to be robbed and pushed around, those ridden with the continual worry for tomorrow (when not worrying about today), were with the forces of the opposition. In every constituency visited the Liberal meetings were better attended than those of the National Union.

If it is difficult to explain the contradiction between these demonstrations of the people and the result of the vote on June 20, it is easier to understand the disillusionment felt by fathers and mothers of families, by workers in the factories, the mills and the mines, by the farmers with small incomes, the loggers, the fishermen, by all the little people who were prepared to celebrate the birth of a new era, the prospect of a life less harsh, less filled with worry, more secure, more in keeping with the grand possibilities of this our rich and beautiful land.

Our movement works and our journal is published in the interests of this cause, the cause of everyone. Not one of us, emerging from the turmoil of the election battle is going to retire to his tent. We shall carry on with the same vigour, with the same ardour. We are not dead, nor wounded, nor decimated, nor humiliated. Rather have we been enriched by new experiences and by the gaining of new friends. And all the people, those who love us and those who do not yet love us, will continue to see our champions of liberty and economic security, joyful, carrying their message of love along every highway and byway of their land.