From Heartland to Periphery: the effects of capitalist restructuring in Quebec

SUMMARY This article examines the shifting political alliances in contemporary Quebec which both jeopardise the position of the Parti québécois and threaten the interests of the new middle class which became extremely powerful in the 1960s and 1970s. Throughout the article the shifting pattern of class alliances in Quebec are viewed as integrally related to the global crisis and Quebec's peripheral position in the capitalist economy. RESUMEN Del centro a la periferia: el efecto de la reestructuración capitalista en Quebec Este artículo examina las cambiantes alianzas políticas en el Quebec contemporáneo, las que amenazan la posición del partido quebequense y los intereses de la nueva clase media que se hizo extremadamente poderosa en las décadas de 1960 y 1970. Los cambios en la trayectoria de las alianzas de clases en Quebec, aparecen totalmente relacionados con la crisis global y con la posición periférica de Quebec en la economía capitalista. SOMMAIRE Du centre de la terre à la périphérie: les effets de la restructuration au Québec L'article examine les déplacements des alliances politiques dans le Québec contemporain menaçant à la fois la position du parti québècois et les intérêts de la nouvelle bourgeoisie, qui est devenue extrêmement puissante en 1960 et 1970. Tout au cours de l'article, le renversement des alliances entre les diverses classes sociales au Québec est considéré comme étant intégralement lié à la crise mondiale et à la position marginale du Québec dans l'économie capitaliste

Sustainable Forest Management Preferences of Interest Groups in Three Regions with Different Levels of Industrial Forestry: An Exploratory Attribute-Based Choice Experiment

The challenge of sustainable forest management is to integrate diverse and sometimes conflicting management objectives. In order to achieve this goal, we need a better understanding of the aspects influencing the preferences of diverse groups and how these groups make trade-offs between different attributes of SFM. We compare the SFM preferences of interest groups in regions with different forest use histories based on the reasoning that the condition of the forest reflects the forest use history of the area. The condition of the forest also shapes an individual’s forest values and attitudes. These held values and attitudes are thought to influence SFM preferences. We tested whether the SFM preferences vary amongst the different interest groups within and across regions. We collected data from 252 persons using a choice experiment approach, where participants chose multiple times among different options described by a combination of attributes that are assigned different levels. The novelty of our approach was the use of choice experiments in the assessment of regional preference differences. Given the complexity of interregional comparison and the small sample size, this was an exploratory study based on a purposive rather than random sample. Nevertheless, our results suggest that the aggregation of preferences of all individuals within a region does not reveal all information necessary for forest management planning since opposing viewpoints could cancel each other out and lead to an interpretation that does not reflect possibly polarised views. Although based on a small\ud sample size, the preferences of interest groups within a region are generally statistically significantly different from each other; however preferences of interest groups across regions are also significantly different. This illustrates the potential importance of assessing heterogeneity by region and by group

Quebec and Climate Change: A Chllenge for the Future

In June 2006, Québec established its first climate change action plan that set ambitious goals and established the means to achieve them. Entitled QUÉBEC AND CLIMATE CHANGE: A Challenge for the Future, the 2006–2012 Climate Change Action Plan was a major step on the road to a society where sustainable development is at the core of priorities and collective choices. The government is now moving forward by improving the action plan with new measures and additional funding. The revised action plan allows Québec to maintain its position as a North American leader in the fight against climate change