At the heart of the turmoil that caused, despite himself, the departure of Marie-Claude Nichols and Dominique Anglade, Frantz Benjamin ensures that the member for Vaudreuil is always welcome in the Liberal caucus.
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“I am a member of the Liberal caucus and the caucus spoke unanimously. And I’m part of this caucus. So, this unanimity, I am part of it, ”said the Liberal MP for Viau, Tuesday morning, about a return from Marie-Claude Nichols, now that the Liberal leader has left office.
The decision taken by Mr.me Anglade to propose Frantz Benjamin for the post of third vice-president of the National Assembly, two weeks ago, caused a chain reaction. Marie-Claude Nichols, who coveted the job, was kicked out of caucus after refusing other responsibilities. This gesture led to a leadership crisis and led to the resignation of Dominique Anglade on Monday.
Even if the door remains open for Mme Nichols, Frantz Benjamin does not question his own candidacy for the third vice-presidency of the National Assembly. The distribution of responsibilities has always been the privilege of a party leader, he argues.
“It was a prerogative of Mr.me England. I don’t see why we would want to question that prerogative today,” he said.
Letter to the National Assembly
After the first publication of this text, Ms. Nichols contacted the Journal by text message to point out that the chairman of the liberal caucus, Enrico Ciccone, wrote to the speaker of the National Assembly on 1er November to formalize his expulsion. This was after the rejection by Mrs. Nichols, the same day, of Dominique Anglade’s outstretched hand.
“Thus, we should stop saying that the ”door is open”! Nothing more official than this letter,” she wrote to our Parliamentary Office.
Diversity
Of Haitian origin, Frantz Benjamin compares his accession to a post of vice-president to the progress made by women in politics before him, whether it is Louise Harel, Pauline Marois or Dominique Anglade.
“It is at the heart of my commitment, the question of representativeness. We have an interest, collectively as a society, when we look at the National Assembly, when we look at municipal councils, when we look at the House of Commons, to have parliaments that are a mirror of society,” he said.
He also recalls his four years as President of the Montreal City Council and his experience as a parliamentarian in Quebec City, where he sat on five parliamentary committees, in addition to having been session chairman.
“I have a certain experience which prepares me to occupy this function”, underlines it.
The real deals
Like his colleague Frédéric Beauchemin, the day before, Frantz Benjamin hopes that the end of this leadership crisis in the PLQ will allow the official opposition to tackle the real issues that concern voters.
“As MP for the riding of Viau, there are fundamental issues that people talk to me about, such as the cost of living, the grocery basket,” he said, also citing the housing crisis affecting his fellow citizens. .
He also evokes a certain renewal in the PLQ: Quebecers have elected, in equal parts, experienced MPs and newcomers to the Liberal caucus, he points out.
“I think the time has now come for us to come together as a political force, as liberal activists to ensure that the message of last October 3, the message of Quebeckers, is not only heard and understood, but above all that we can work together to regain the trust of Quebeckers,” he concludes.
An interim chief on Thursday
The interim leader of the official opposition, who will face François Legault in the National Assembly, will also be chosen on Thursday, said the president of the PLQ, Rafael Primeau-Ferraro. “There will first be the caucus which will carry out its consultation (…) after which will follow the meeting of the executive”, he argued.
But already, the rules surrounding the eligibility of the one who will occupy this temporary position with regard to the race for the leadership of the party were clarified earlier this week. The interim leader is not disqualified for the future leadership campaign.
An important clarification since the two deputies in the ranks for the interim, Marc Tanguay and André Fortin, could have the ambition to participate in the leadership race.
– With the collaboration of Geneviève Lajoie