of rural values and deeply opposed to modernity and its consequences, mainly urbanization and industrialization. Some facts are irrefutable. In 1900, the average number of parish members per priest was only 537. Overall, there was one member of the Church for every 109 Catholics in the province. This phenomenal bureaucracy probably had no equivalent in the Western world among Catholic countries - not even Italy. But while the bureaucracy was immense, there remains the question of whether it frustrated the province's development or provided a different road to modernity. The Church ran a relatively complex school system, invested in real estate and financial markets. At the same time, Catholic unions opposed trusts and big business. Communities of sisters, like the Grey Nuns, managed hospitals and were involved in real estate. The role of the Church in the history of Qubec is a complex one and continues to be debated by historians and sociologists. Social Institutions Qubec's legal and judicial system is based on the French Civil Code while the rest of Canada uses Common Law. Qubec has a provincial charter of human rights, a consumer protection act, a provincial automobile insurance system, and separate income security and family allowance systems. Qubec also has a complex network of more than 800 social institutions. Among them are hospitals, community centres and long-term care facilities for the elderly. Since 1965 an agency of the Qubec government has managed Qubec's social benefits programs. Several institutions such as Rgie des rentes du Qubec, Rgie de