Joseph Facal (born 12 March 1961) is a Canadian politician, academic, and journalist in the province of Quebec. He was a Parti Québécois member of the National Assembly of Quebec from 1994 to 2003 and was a cabinet minister in the governments of Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry.
Early life and career
Facal was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, and moved with his family to Sherbrooke, Quebec, in 1970. His father, a surgeon with leftist political views, moved to Canada to escape Uruguay's political turmoil. Facal attended a bilingual French/Spanish school in Uruguay and was fluent in both languages before arriving in Quebec; he later became fluent in English.Robert McKenzie, "Facal seen as new type of politician Young Quebec minister gives PQ a fresh image," Toronto Star, 2 October 1998, A6; Luann Lasalle, "PQ has new face to carry fight for separatism," Hamilton Spectator, 3 October 1998, C10. His sister, Carole Facal, is a noted singer-songwriter in Quebec.
Facal has a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Université du Québec à Montréal (1983), a Master of Arts degree in political science from the Université de Montréal (1986), and a Ph.D. in sociology from the Sorbonne (1993). He lectured at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales de Montréal and Concordia University before starting his career as an elected official. He joined the Parti Québécois in 1980 and was the party's youth leader in 1990–91.Robert McKenzie, "Facal seen as new type of politician Young Quebec minister gives PQ a fresh image," Toronto Star, 2 October 1998, A6.
Shortly before his first election victory in 1994, Facal said that his support for Quebec sovereignty was based on economic issues. "Older sovereigntists tend to be driven more by the linguistic and cultural aspects of the debate," he said. "[Younger sovereigntists] are more driven by economic arguments, perhaps because nationalists of my generation have seen the slow and steady rise of French and feel less insecure. The language issue is really not what moves me."Anne McIlroy, "Aging separatists," Kitchener-Waterloo Record, 8 July 1994, A7.
Politician
Facal first sought election to the Quebec legislature in the 1989 general election for the Montreal division of Dorion. He finished second against incumbent Liberal Party candidate Violette Trépanier, a minister in Robert Bourassa's government.
He was narrowly elected on his second attempt in the 1994 general election for the Laval division of Fabre. The Parti Québécois won a majority government under Jacques Parizeau's leadership, and Facal entered the legislative as a government backbencher. From December 1994 to March 1996 he chaired the assembly's commission de l'éducation. In 1995, he openly expressed scepticism about Premier Parizeau's strategy of holding a referendum on sovereignty during the Parti Québécois's first full year in government.Anne McIlroy, "Parizeau, Bouchard widen rift," Calgary Herald, 11 April 1995, A1.
Lucien Bouchard succeeded Parizeau as Parti Québécois leader and premier of Quebec on 26 January 1996, and appointed Facal as his parliamentary secretary three days later. Facal subsequently represented the Bouchard government on missions to Africa, Europe, and Latin America, and in 1997 he served as vice-president of the Parliamentary Conference of the Americas held in Quebec City."Parliamentary Conference Of The Americas: Conference President Tells Oas Ambassadors And Members Of The US Congress Parliamentarians Of The Americas Will Focus On Economic Integration Issues In Quebec City In September," Canada NewsWire, 26 June 1997, 14:54; Robert Pichette, "Acadians and the PQ line," Globe and Mail, 30 March 1998, A15. In the same year, he chaired a legislative committee that recommended downsizing in the Quebec civil service and the number of government agencies.Elizabeth Thompson, "Overhaul bureaucracy, report urges," Montreal Gazette, 25 September 1997, A7.
Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
Bouchard government
Facal was promoted to cabinet on 23 September 1998, as minister of Canadian intergovernmental affairs.Rheal Seguin, "Bouchard makes minor changes to cabinet," Globe and Mail, 24 September 1998, A6. Some political observers argued that Facal was a more flexible and skilled diplomat than his predecessor, Jacques Brassard. See for instance Graham Fraser, "Jurisdiction question dies hard in Quebec," Globe and Mail, 27 January 1999, A4. He was re-elected with an increased majority in the 1998 general election, as the PQ won a second consecutive majority government under Bouchard's leadership. Facal recorded English-language and Spanish-language advertisements for his party during the campaign. He was kept in the intergovernmental affairs portfolio after the election and was also appointed as minister responsible for the Outaouais on 15 December 1998.Rheal Seguin and Tu Thanh Ha, "PQ ads underline Bouchard persona in fresh theme," Globe and Mail, 4 November 1998, A4; Rheal Seguin, "Quebec cabinet more feminine place," Globe and Mail, 16 December 1998, A9; Profils de diplômés: Joseph Facal, ex-ministre et ex-président du Conseil du trésor du Gouvernement du Québec , Université du Québec à Montréal. Retrieved 25 March 2011.
In 1998 and 1999, Facal took part in discussions with representatives of the Canadian federal government and other provinces on a proposed Social Union Framework Agreement for health, education, and social services. He indicated that Quebec would only accept the agreement if it recognized the province's right to opt out of specific programs with full financial compensation.Alison Auld, "Provinces want health dollars: One of key demands before social union deal finalized," 12 January 1999, B1; Rheal Seguin, "Charest poised to play backroom role at talks," Globe and Mail, 4 February 1999, A9. The federal government ultimately concluded a deal with all provinces except Quebec in February 1999; Facal said that he could not sign the accord, as it included provisions for the federal government to oversee unilateral programs such as the millennium scholarships and did not permit Quebec to opt out of future shared-cost programs.Jim Brown, "Quebec refuses to sign social union," Hamilton Spectator, 5 February 1999, C3. He later said that the social union agreement undermined any possibility that Quebec's distinctiveness could be recognized within the Canadian constitution."Social-union deal favours Ottawa, Quebec academics find," Globe and Mail, 10 June 1999, A7; Robert McKenzie, "Social union denounced in Quebec," Toronto Star, 10 June 1999, p. 1.
Facal was a vocal opponent of the Clarity Act introduced by Stéphane Dion, the minister of intergovernmental affairs in the federal government of Jean Chrétien. Dion's act was designed to clarify the terms and conditions under which the government of Canada would negotiate with a provincial government in the event of a successful referendum on sovereignty. Among other things, the act gave the House of Commons of Canada the right to determine if the referendum question and the popular mandate for sovereignty were sufficiently clear. Facal described the legislation as "anti-democratic" and exchanged public letters with Dion on the subject in late 1999."Dion trying to change vote rules, Facal says," Globe and Mail, 16 September 1999, A6; Graham Fraser, "No clarity, no talks, PM says," Globe and Mail, 11 December 1999, A1.
Facal introduced counter-legislation to the Clarity Act in the Quebec legislature in December 1999. His legislation stated that a simple majority would be sufficient for a referendum victory on sovereignty, that Quebec's boundaries could not be changed except by Quebec's government and elected representatives, and that no other parliament or government could reduce the powers of the National Assembly.Rheal Seguin, "Quebec legislation denies," Globe and Mail, 16 December 1999, A11. The Grand Council of the Crees initially opposed this legislation on the grounds that it denied aboriginal people the same right of self-determination that was claimed for Quebec. Facal responded that it was not his government's wish "to exercise any form of domination over the Crees" and revised the legislation to reflect this and other concerns.Rheal Seguin, "Crees call for Quebec to abandon self-determination bill," Globe and Mail, 24 March 2000, A10; Robert McKenzie, "PQ bill sent back for revisions," Toronto Star, 5 April 2000, p. 1; Robert McKenzie, "Quebec Liberals say no to new Bill 99," Toronto Star, 20 April 2000, p. 1; Rheal Seguin, "PQ, Liberals hold talks in secret on secession," Globe and Mail, 25 May 2000, A4; Robert McKenzie, "PQ proceeds alone with its self-determination bill," Toronto Star, 25 May 2000, p. 1. The revised version was approved by the National Assembly in December 2000, with Liberal legislators voting against it.
Facal expressed scepticism toward federal health minister Allan Rock's proposal to overhaul Canada's public health system in January 2000, saying that the effort was hypocritical after years of federal cutbacks.Anne McIlroy, "Rock's health plan greeted with scorn," Globe and Mail, 28 January 2000, A1.
Landry government
Lucien Bouchard announced his resignation as Parti Québécois leader and premier in January 2001, and Facal was one of the first PQ legislators to support Bernard Landry's successful bid to succeed him.Michelle MacAfee, "Bloc MPs work on revamping sovereignty pitch, PQ focuses on leadership race," Canadian Press, 16 January 2001, 17:49. When Landry became premier on 8 March 2001, he retained Facal as Canadian intergovernmental affairs minister and gave him additional responsibilities as minister of citizenship and immigration. He was also given ministerial responsibility for Canadian francophones and Acadians living outside Quebec, while giving up responsibility for the Outaouais to Sylvain Simard."Bernard Landry, who was sworn in as Quebec premier Thursday, also appointed his first cabinet," Broadcast News, 8 March 2001, 17:46. The following month, Facal published a seventy-page book entitled Le declin du federalisme canadien."Separatists bolstered by summit," Toronto Star, 28 April 2001, K02.
In May 2001, Facal called on the Canadian government to give Quebec a greater role in citizenship ceremonies for new Canadians.Graeme Hamilton, "Rite to welcome immigrants to Quebec 'nation," National Post, 15 May 2001, A02. He initially offered qualified support to the suggestion that Quebec should establish its own citizenship,Brian Daly, "PQ wants citizenship study," Toronto Star, 22 August 2001, A06. but he later rejected it on the grounds that it was unnecessarily provocative and offered no concrete benefits."Quebec minister says idea of Quebec citizenship divisive, legally shaky," Canadian Press, 21 November 2001, 21:57.
In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., Facal indicated that Quebec would tighten procedures for issuing documents such as birth certificates. He also expressed concern that Quebec immigrants of Arab origin would be unfairly associated with terrorism. "It's malicious and deplorable to insinuate there may be a terrorist lurking behind every Arab or Muslim", he said in response to a critical New York Times article. "I strongly denounce all such suggestions.""Quebec is no haven for terrorists, says the province's immigration minister," Canadian Press, 19 September 2001, 20:10; "Quebec to tighten procedures for issuing birth certificates, other documents," Canadian Press, 28 September 2001, 16:38.
President of the Treasury Board
Landry shuffled his cabinet on 30 January 2002, and named Facal as president of the treasury board and minister of state for administration and the public service. While holding this portfolio, Facal emerged as a prominent voice on the right wing of the Parti Québécois.