Alliance numériQC, Quebec finance minister at odds over state help to sector

A war of words has erupted between Quebec’s main multimedia association and one of the most powerful politicians in the province over the role the state should play in aiding the industry. On November 8, the Alliance numériQC was forced to rush to the industry’s defence, specifically of its extensive public-sector assistance, after Quebec finance minister Pauline Marois told a Laval University debate that she favours gradually eliminating provincial aid to certain sectors, citing the multimedia industry in particular. Marois’ comments dovetailed with those of her Laval sparring partners, Guy Laforest, president of the Action Démocratique du Québec party, and Liberal MNA Monique Jérôme-Forget. Both opposition politicians also supported a reduced role for the state, a worrisome trend for Alliance staffers. As reported in Le Devoir, Marois told the audience in October: "We have to re-evaluate the Québécois model and choose lighter state intervention…I believe that the Québécois model has delivered exceptional results, but I also believe we need to transform it." She also told the debate audience that "we probably should review certain fiscal measures that have delivered the expected results, and which we likely don’t need to preserve." Marois cited new economy enterprises and the multimedia sectors as those that have reached a competitive level in international markets. Marois’ comments fly in the face of wisdom accepted by Péquiste leader and Quebec premier Bernard Landry, who has carefully nurtured the province’s multimedia industry since his own days as finance minister. As early as last September, Landry told his party that "the Quebec model is the best synthesis in the world between the market economy and state intervention." Dozens of companies have benefited from Landry’s policies creating the Cité Multimédia and one of Canada’s most progressive labour tax credits for tech companies. Still, Landry and his party have been perceived to be in trouble in an election that must be called within the year, and speculation holds that he may step down should the PQ lose. Marois would likely be interested in pursuing the party’s leadership, loss or no, and policies that differentiate her from the premier could be an important maneuver by the longtime hopeful. Backroom politicking or no, the general political trend toward re-evaluating a generations-old acceptance of heavy state involvement in economic affairs has the multimedia industry worried. In an open letter to the French media, Alliance chair Alain Aubut writes: "It’s true that the broad sector comprising multimedia and information technologies have benefited…Business has certainly profited by these measures, but…they have also benefited the state, for whom the creation of new businesses and the creation of new jobs has translated into important revenues. "It’s also true that, today, certain specialized niches such as animation, linguistic engineering and information tools are performing remarkably. But it would be an exaggeration to suggest that the Quebec multimedia industry has achieved a sufficient level of growth to compete on the world markets either in the field of software development or the production of original interactive content." The open letter goes on to make the point that equipment and infrastructure have been well developed through government assistance, but interactive content made in Quebec continues to need support to protect Quebec’s culture. Recently the Alliance made many of the same points during a September hearing on the province’s audio-visual industry, at which time the organization made a call for greater support and even the resurrection of several moribund programs (CNM, Oct. 3/02). Alliance spokesperson Daniel Boismenu says the government needs to be cognizant of the role of multimedia players in creating new approaches to health, education and social services. Multimedia content, he says, is not just about game-playing, but about helping the government use technology to better deliver services – something the Alliance and its partners will try to hammer home in the next election. "We take that very seriously," Boismenu says. "It’s not just because Marois said that. It’s also because it seems to be the trend in Quebec. It’s the mood, and the ADQ and Parti Libéral share almost from the same school."

Alliance numériQC, Quebec finance minister at odds over state help to sector

News | 11/14/2002 5:00 am EST

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