This is BIG, really really BIG...

For people that don't know Quebec history, this guy goes back 40 years in politics at a federal and provincial level. For Quebecers in particular, he was around in the Trudeau years, went through the whole FLQ crisis, and eventually formed the Bloc Quebecois.

There is always this thought in the back of many Quebecers minds that Quebec would be better off on their own as a stand alone country. Now I don't want to get into the reasons for that or argue why, but it's enough to know that Lucien Bouchard and the Bloc were at the spearhead of that movement the last time it was voted on. It was a very very close vote, and was the closest that they have come to being independent in a couple hundred years... The key point is that a large number of Quebecers (especially the stereotypical paranoid types that believe if it's good for Canada it's bad for Quebec) worship the ground this guy walks on and view him almost as a father figure for Quebec.

Bouchard is going to send 2 messages LOUD and CLEAR to Quebecers...

1. The shale gas industry is good for the province of Quebec and the Quebec people. "Trust me like you did in the last vote"

2. Whatever political party you're with, you better get on board with shale gas because LB is backing it. If you don't, the people will think you don't know what you're talking about and won't vote for you in the next election. Effectively, all the political parties will have to back the drilling, not to GAIN votes but simply not to LOSE votes and their credibility.

To add a bit of understanding for the folks oversees, this would be like President Clinton coming out of retirement to take over as CEO of BP after the gulf oil spill. Or if the head of Greenpeace took the job. It's just priceless.

Brym