Reengineering the State : Toward an Impoverishment of Quebec Governance

Despite the claims of the Quebec Liberal Government that its reengineering initiative is a managerial matter, with the aim of improving the effectiveness, efficiency, and economy of the public administration of Quebec, any administrative reform leads to a reconfiguring of the state's autonomy and capacities, which in turn leads to a redefining of governance. While it is crucial to examine the tangible processes involved in implementing a new management framework (the success of which depends on the collective actors of public administration being able to cooperate), one must also consider the consequences of redefining the relationship between the state and civil society. Liberal reengineering, an ambitious revision of structures and programs, entails many significant consequences for the operation of Quebec governance, two pillars of which are consultation and deliberation. Since the rights of citizens to exercise their prerogatives cannot be reduced to a mere vote every four or five years, the directive nature of Liberal reengineering poses a real threat for democratic governance. In this regard, the possibility that such reengineering may lead to the impoverishment, both qualitative and quantitative, of Quebec governance, is a real concern. Book jacket.