1 For the sake of comparison, union density in Ontario, BC, and Canada stands at 28.1, 30.6, and 31.6 percent, respectively. In the US, the average union density is a paltry 13.6 percent, with the state of New York leading at 27.2 percent. Other heavily industrialized states — such as Michigan, Illinois, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and California — stand between 15 percent and 19 percent. With a rate of 40 percent, Québec easily outranks all other industrial regions in North America.

2 In June 2007, Québec Solidaire granted the status of “recognized collectives within the party” to Gauche Socialiste, an affiliate of the Fourth International, and to Masse Critique, an anti-capitalist and eco-socialist collective, to which I belong. Also recognized at that time was Socialisme International. Since then, three more collectives have been recognized by QS: the Parti Communiste du Québec, Le Collectif pour la Décroissance (a zero-growth radical-ecology collective), and Le Groupe Marxiste International.