The duty asked five candidates who made the leap into the political arena for the first time what made them interested in public life. In turn, with one candidate per party, they tell us about their doubts and their hopes. Today, caquiste Maïté Blanchette Vézina.
Until my most distant memories, politics and social involvement have been at the heart of family life. My parents, like many Quebecers of their generation, devoted themselves to work to offer the best to their daughters, while devoting time to causes that were close to their hearts. In addition, the political discussions at the table with sovereignist and conscientious parents, the newscast in the background, instilled in me, from a young age, the importance of getting involved to make things happen.
Education was a priority for my parents. They repeated it to us, to my sisters and to me, regularly, a sermon recited in several modest families of Quebec at the time. Looking back, I see that school was only part of that education. The family could remake the world during supper: the whole meaning lay in the importance of embodying these ideas and values on a daily basis in our actions.
I was 31 when I entered politics. Young and motivated, I was convinced that the sometimes ruthless battle of business law had adequately prepared me for the reality of public life. But nothing really prepares us for the sometimes unfair criticism and personal attacks. A headwind that an elected official will inevitably suffer. Let there be no misunderstanding: my term as mayor of Sainte-Luce was one of the best experiences of my life. The feeling of making things better in people’s lives, even stronger in a small municipality, is so inspiring that it makes us forget all the hours we put into it. For me, politics only makes sense if it is rooted in the community.
This first experience in politics gave me the desire to launch myself on the Quebec scene. However, I quickly noticed that the game would be different. From the second day of the campaign, my signs were vandalized downtown. I was disappointed, but not shaken. It was all predictable.
Except that my young children hadn’t expected to see their mother’s face scratched, bruised or ripped off on the way to school. How do you explain things to them? How to reassure them? Of all the questions I was asked during the election campaign, it was those of my children that I had the hardest time answering.
welcome life
The campaign was just beginning, and it was clear that my whole family was on board. Through the storms, I try to reconcile the campaign schedule with my family life. Sometimes my children come with me; other times I drop by the house for cuddles. Between these short moments when I resume my role as a mother, I meet people to hear their concerns and their ideas.
I hear a lot about the management of the pandemic, the vaccination operation, the need to improve our health system. Access to quality care is a major concern for the citizens of Rimouski-Neigette, as in many regions of Quebec. When you live several hours from a major center, it’s not just a convenience: it’s downright a matter of security.
It’s a bit the same story for our roads: the extension of Autoroute 20 between Trois-Pistoles and Le Bic would make a narrow section on which residents of the region, truckers, tourists and farmers congregate safer.
If we want to be able to continue to attract newcomers to our part of the country, we need quality infrastructure in health, transportation, housing and services of all kinds. While Quebecers are rediscovering the virtues of living in their territory, we must develop living environments that meet their expectations, everywhere in Quebec.
I am a proud daughter of Bas-Saint-Laurent, a region large enough to accommodate the life, dreams and ambitions of all those who wish to put down roots there.
Solidarity, mutual aid and benevolence
Lying between the river and the forest, the electoral division of Rimouski is not limited to the city of the same name; it also embraces several rural municipalities that form the summit of the Haut-Bas-Laurentien region. The invigorating wind of the rising tide naturally mixes with that of the hinterland warmed by the midday sun. Beyond our maritime entrance, which makes Rimouski famous, there is a thriving research and innovation sector, a dynamic forest industry and agricultural land of enviable richness.
Festivals, shows, activities in the parks, lark… there is always something to do in Rimouski and in the surrounding municipalities! You just have to remember to take a moment to look around and appreciate the fact that we live in the most beautiful region of Quebec.
The wind is very present in our region. It spins wind turbines and moves sailboats forward. However, I have the feeling that another wind is taking hold here: a wind that leads me to believe that more and more of the people of Rimouski-Neigette see the Coalition avenir Québec as a political party that can carry their vision of a proud and prosperous Quebec that looks to the future in a pragmatic and positive way.
The wind that carries me and that carries the CAQ at the moment resembles the one that has always blown here. We want a political party that unconditionally sides with Quebec. A political party that believes that the strength of Quebec depends on the dynamism of the regions that make it up. A political formation convinced that solidarity, mutual aid and benevolence are the cement that brings us together and unites us. I feel that this wind is blowing over Rimouski.