Vive la différence!

>>

Jean-François Lisée said recently that he quit his job as political advisor for Premier Lucien Bouchard last September so he could write his controversial book Sortie de secours. But the media focused only on his pessimism about the sovereignty movement. The real message, he says, is his "win-win" scenario.

"People largely accept the current balance of power between French and English," says Lisée, "but they're too worried about what will happen over 10 years to sit down and discuss how we can keep things this way."

The answer, he says, is to accept the linguistic status quo. And then reap the economic benefits.

Lisée says that each country is viewed as a "postcard" by foreign investors--an image associated with a few main points. "Quebec's postcard is of a francophone province that wants to break up one of the best countries in the world," Lisée said. "Let's change the postcard so that people think of Quebec--and specifically Montreal--as a place with a peaceful, Europe-like blend of cultures. This would be a real asset in the context of global investment."

Although Lisée spoke at an off-the-record dinner, he invited journalists to phone him later. No doubt he wants to get his message out for the Parti Québécois convention from May 5-7.

Although some pundits allege that his ideas are a "trial balloon" from Bouchard, Lisée denies this: "If it was that, then we failed." :

--John Edmonds

more news...