Communist Party of Quebec

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Parti communiste du Québec
Active Provincial Party
Founded 1921
Leader André Parizeau
President
Headquarters Casier postal 482 Succursale Place-d'Armes Montréal (Québec) H2Y 3H3
Political ideology Communism, Quebec sovereigntism
International alignment http://www.solidnet.org/
Colours Red
Website http://www.pcq.qc.ca

The Parti communiste du Québec or PCQ (in English: Communist Party of Quebec) is a communist political party in Quebec. The PCQ was the Quebec branch of the Communist Party of Canada, which was founded in 1921. It has run candidates in Quebec general elections from 1936 to 1998.

The party was banned in 1941, and henceforth ran candidates as the Parti ouvrier-progressiste (in English: Labour Progressive Party) until 1959.

In 2002, the PCQ has merged with the Rassemblement pour l'alternative progressiste and the Parti de la démocratie socialiste to form the Union des forces progressistes, which in turn merged with Option Citoyenne to form Québec Solidaire. However, the organization is still active as a collective within Québec Solidaire.

As of 2006, the name "Parti communiste du Québec" is officially authorized by the DGEQ as the name of a political party led by André Parizeau. This party did not run any candidates in the 2007 Quebec election.

Contents

[edit] 2007 Provincial elections

In 2007 the Communist Party of Quebec, it decided not to introduce candidates at the time of this election and rather to support those of Quebec Solidaire. It should be specified that the PCQ was one of the party-founders of the UFP, interdependent ancestor of Quebec. The party decided to remain active only in order to prevent that a new political formation takes its name, putting thus fine at the efforts to link the Quebec left. The president of the party, André Parizeau Francis Gagnon-Bergmann member of the Executive committee and Jocelyn Parent, were candidate for Quebec Solidaire in the district of Acadie Blainville and Mirabel. All the members of the PCQ are working in the Quebec Solidaire party.

[edit] 2005 split

In 2005, the Parti communiste du Québec split into two rival groups, both of which claim to represent the party. The national committee of one group, led by André Parizeau, voted unanimously to expelled Gang Of Four from the PCQ in June 2005. The Communist Party of Canada had previously expelled Parizeau, and does not recognize the legality of his group or his motion, stating that Parizeau had first expelled the members who would not vote in favour of his motion. As a result, a group called Gang Of Four who were originally expelled from Parizeau's PCQ stayed loyal the Communist Party of Canada and its Quebec section also calling themselves the CPQ/CPC.

The split followed a lengthy dispute between Parizeau and the Central Executive Committee of the CPC. In November 2004, Parizeau introduced a series of amendments to the CPC program "Canada's Future is Socialism". According to a letter from Ontario leader Elizabeth Rowley, these amendments called on the party to expand its support for Quebec Independence.

Parizeau's amendments were rejected by the Central Executive Committee by a vote of 7-1; Parizeau himself was the only member to vote in favour. The National Executive Committee (NEC) of the Quebec Party also rejected Parizeau's amendments by a vote of 4-2.

In January 2005, Parizeau wrote a letter to PCQ members declaring that the party was in crisis. Describing the four NEC members who opposed his amendments as a Gang Of Four and a pro-federalist faction, he summarily dismissed them from office. In turn, Parizeau's opponents called for the CPC to suspend him from office pending an investigation into his activities.

This controversy came to a head at the PCQ convention of April 2005. After delegates voted 16-14 to expel one of the four suspended NEC members, Parizeau's opponents staged a mass walkout from the convention hall. The seventeen delegates who stayed voted to establish a new National Committee and Executive, consisting entirely of Parizeau's supporters.

On April 27, 2005, the Central Executive of the CPC voted to expel Parizeau for "factional activity and the pursuit of a right opportunist line", declared that the expulsions from the PCQ were illegal, and affirmed the authority of the previous National Executive Committee. This decision was confirmed by the party's Central Committee at a meeting held on June 18-19, 2005.

Parizeau's group published a letter of withdrawal from the CPC on June 15, 2005. In this letter, the CPC was accused of holding "des idées chauvines vis-à-vis du Québec". The CPC has rejected similar accusations from Parizeau in the past, and now holds the position that Parizeau's group has no legal authority to use the PCQ name.

The PCQ account of this situation is available online ([1]).

[edit] 2006

The official Directeur général des élections du Québec recognizes the existence of a Parti communiste du Québec with leader André Parizeau, authorized April 3, 2006. [2] This party did not run any candidates in the 2007 Quebec election.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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