The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday, April 8, edition that last week's sale of St-Hubert Group to Cara Operations for $537-million came the same day that Rona shareholders approved the Quebec-based chain's $3.2-billion takeover by Lowe's of Mooresville, N.C. The Globe's Konrad Yakabuski writes that the deals have fuelled a fiery debate that has been raging in Quebec for months: Is Quebec Inc. a spent force? The generation of visionary francophone business leaders that wrested control of the province's economy from the anglophone establishment decades ago is either dying off or reaching retirement age. St-Hubert owner Jean-Pierre Leger's decision to sell his iconic chain to an outsider has once more raised questions about whether a new set of tools is needed to prevent a further hollowing-out of Quebec Inc. Existing institutions, starting with the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, are increasingly seen as being unable or unwilling to play the gatekeeper role that prevented key businesses from falling into outside hands in the past. Players such as Quebecor and Jean Coutu Group that used to have continental or global ambitions have retreated to the Quebec market.