You can't stop a reform in the middle. You do it completely and pretty fast, or you don't do it.

A big mistake in politics is to think that because an issue appears to have been settled, it doesn't exist anymore. You just sweep it under the rug and pretend it doesn't exist.

I think this is a line in the sand for many Quebecers and Canadians: That if you're going to give services or receive services, your face should be uncovered.

I often repeat three numbers: 20-23-26. Quebec generates only 20 per cent of Canada's wealth; it represents 23 per cent of the population, but it does 26 per cent of government spending in Canada. That's incompatible with good financial health over the long term.

You can't stop a reform in the middle. You do it completely and pretty fast, or you don't do it.

Quebec's financial situation is serious. In terms of intensity, we're close to matching 1982 and 1997. We won't do the same things this time, but the problems we face today are about as pressing.

I belong to a generation that had so many choices available. In 1970, when [former premier Robert] Bourassa launched the James Bay development project, nobody in Quebec asked whether we had the means to do it. Today could we launch another James Bay? Imagine the debates we'd have? We were a young, rich society with almost no debt. The generation that comes after us, and which will lead Quebec, must also have choices. And for that, they'll need financial manoeuvring room.