Pauline Marois – Page 2 – The Concordian

On Sept. 4, Pauline Marois, leader of the Parti Québécois, was the first woman to be named premier of Quebec.

However, she will be at the head of a minority government, having won only four additional seats than the incumbent Liberals. A minority government cannot fully operate and respect their campaign promises without the help of a second party to back its ideas up. Luckily, neither the Coalition Avenir Québec nor the Liberals are looking to support any of Marois’ controversial campaign promises, if proposed in Quebec’s National Assembly.

Marcel Danis, a political science professor at Concordia University and former vice-president of the House of Commons, said he knows that nothing will come out of this provincial government.

‘‘I don’t think much will go on under this government because of the policies and the promises that she’s made,’’ said Danis.

The dynamic of a minority government dictates that the PQ can only pass legislations into law with a majority support. The party’s two most emblematic plans are a sovereignty referendum and the redistribution of wealth – and both must go through the National Assembly to be voted on by the entire government. According to Danis, attempts to follow through on these plans will in all likelihood be rejected.

The PQ’s promise of a referendum was actually in the form of a bill they wished to pass, which would give the people the power to call their own vote.

‘‘For example, under this new law, if 800,000 people, 15 per cent of Quebec’s population, want a referendum across the province, the referendum would have to take place,’’ said Danis.

The PQ’s plan for redistribution of wealth consisted of “abolishing the health tax of roughly $200 per person, and replacing that with an increase in taxes for people making over $130,000,” said Danis. According to Quebec law, all monetary legislation must go through the National Assembly, including raising taxes, and Danis doesn’t expect the opposition to throw their support behind the plan.

Marois does, however, have one alternative for passing her legislation. As premier, she can now pass executive decrees, which in other words, is mainly the power of appointment.

She will thus be able to go forth with her promise to reverse the tuition fee increase, which had a provision admitting executive decrees. Bill 78 does not; therefore, Marois will have to either pass a law through the National Assembly to abolish it, or simply let it expire itself on July 1, 2013.

“It’s surprising when you look at the results; nine more seats [for the PQ] would have made a huge difference,” said Danis. “We would have had a referendum, and we would have had some redistribution of wealth. None of that can take place now.”

As you can see, Marois has barely any space to move. Until the next election, the National Assembly will be in a deadlock.

Marois’ election should be seen as a symbol of Quebec’s need for change. Quebecers have decided to remove Charest from power, yet have only given the PQ a minority government, disabling the possibility for them to do as they please. It’s a symbol of exasperation and frustration from a majority that has felt unheard for too long. ….

Think hard before you vote PQ

PQ chef Pauline Marois. Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Excitement is growing for the upcoming provincial election.

Concordia has closed its doors, leaving students with one less excuse not to go out and cast their vote. As of September 4, people will be rushing to the polls to decide who will be the next premier of Quebec. Can Jean Charest join a legend like Robert Bourassa and become the premier of Quebec an incredible four times? Only time will tell. I am, however, sure of one thing: we cannot have Pauline Marois and the Parti Quebecois lead Quebec.

“We are a sovereigntist party,” Marois once told reporters.

The PQ wants a sovereign Quebec. It is no secret and Marois has publicly said that she is ready to spend taxpayers’ money to promote her party’s vision of an independent Quebec, should they be elected.

The Liberal candidate for Nelligan, Yolande James, told CBC that she thinks this is absolutely preposterous.
“Not only will they be spending people’s tax money on working toward sovereignty studies, it’s not going to be clear what they will be doing,” said James. “They’re hiding their referendum because they’re afraid of losing the election.”

That being said, the Parti Quebecois has stated that they plan to implement news laws such as extending Bill 101 to apply to small businesses and introducing mandatory French language tests for civil servants. This is the type of legislation that could potentially limit people’s rights and freedoms in this province.

People living in Quebec should have more access to bilingualism, not less. They should be able to send their children to whichever school they want, to be able to open a business without their every move being scrutinized.

Over the course of the year, Marois appeared to be hoping to score many student votes by sporting a red square during her speeches, as well as supporting the student strike over the tuition hikes proposed by the Liberals. Where is the red square now? In late June, she decided to drop it, telling media stations that she will be sporting the fleur-de-lis instead.

Many students didn’t buy it.

“If she doesn’t wear the red square, she’s won the championship of hypocrisy,” said Charest to the Canadian Press when she stopped wearing it.

It seems quite unlikely that Marois will appeal to students much more than Charest in the upcoming election. Taking off her red square is a sign that she could end up taking the same position Charest did on the tuition hikes if elected, despite claiming to support the movement.

It’s no secret that Quebec is bleeding money of late, and at a time when we desperately need our funds to go to more urgent matters, who would choose to have it thrown away to promote a referendum that is so unlikely to pass?

It is clear that the PQ is the wrong choice in this upcoming elections, but far less clear who may be the right one. Whatever the case, don’t take a back seat on election day.