At the edge of the 43e legislature, The duty invited outgoing MEPs to give some advice to recruits to help them avoid getting lost in the maze of the political world. Fourth handover between Christine St-Pierre and Alejandra Zaga Mendez.
“We are like social workers,” said former Liberal elected official Christine St-Pierre to the new solidarity MP for Verdun, Alejandra Zaga Mendez. You have to be a psychologist, you have to listen, it takes some missionary qualities. “A citizen who comes knocking on the door of a constituency office to get help often does so as a last resort, underlines the 69-year-old former politician who participates in the virtual exchange from home, at Montreal. “There is no small file. »
When Mme St-Pierre was Minister of Culture, Communications and the Status of Women, from 2007 to 2012, the Prime Minister at the time, Jean Charest, asked elected Liberals to be present at their constituency office every week, relates she. Even during periods of parliamentary work at the National Assembly in Quebec. “There you say: ‘how am I going to fit this into my diary?’ If you can’t do it during the week, you will do it on the weekend. »
Being an MP “is 365 days a year,” continues the former elected representative from Acadie. “You can be called all the time on a file. There aren’t many times when you can escape and say, “I don’t think about anything anymore”. »
An observation shared by Mme Zaga Mendez, nodding his head sharply. Especially since she lives in the constituency she now represents in the National Assembly. “We’re going to get bread from the convenience store, but we’re meeting people,” says the 34-year-old woman. An aspect of her new life as an elected official to which she is getting used, even if the holder of a doctorate in sustainable development and conservation has always had “one foot in the field” by getting involved in various community organizations.
Born in Peru and arriving in Quebec at the age of 14, she says she “discovered” her host society by campaigning for environmental causes and social justice. “Politics has always been close to me,” sums up the former president of Québec solidaire.
Learn to respond to journalists
Christine St-Pierre recalls the difficulty of learning to answer journalists’ questions when she entered politics in 2007. A “big surprise” for her, especially since she worked for 31 years at Radio-Canada for who she was a correspondent in Quebec, Ottawa and Washington, before jumping the fence.
“When you have already been quite picky yourself and you have been quite, I would say, cruel yourself even with politicians, then you feel that the change in your room is coming back”, she says, smiling crookedly. . She adds in the same breath that the press “is very important in a democracy”.
As elected, Ms.me St-Pierre initially tended to respond at length to parliamentary correspondents. “Answers that were not the clip five to six seconds than politicians with a lot of skill are capable of. »
The former minister also tries to simply summarize the next piece of advice for Alejandra Zaga Mendez: a deputy must take parliamentary committees “very seriously”, she says.
Asking several questions during the study of a bill makes it possible to detect potential “flaws” or “grey areas”. “You should not go to a parliamentary committee just to have the clip in the news,” warns Christine St-Pierre.
Attentive to the words of the veteran, Mme Zaga Mendez emphasizes his enthusiasm for bringing to the parliamentary committee “subjects and blind spots that the government is not considering”. “It’s one of the things that I feel like and can’t wait to do,” she says.
Beyond the “big show”
According to Mme St-Pierre, politicians would enjoy a better reputation if the population saw all the work they do. Very often, the question period in the Blue Room, where tempers sometimes flare up, is the most publicized part, she underlines.
“Are you going to land the right punch in the right place?” she said, slapping the palm of her hand. Are you going to embarrass the minister? That’s the “show”, there’s a big “show”. But, there’s the whole aspect that’s behind the curtains that people don’t see. »
For the former elected Liberal, it is essential to drive out “all this impression that the deputies are only green plants”. “When the Chamber begins to sit, we are in the office at 6:30 to 7:00 in the morning, then sometimes the parliamentary committees run until evening. »
If she has a lot to say about politics, Christine St-Pierre has been observing this universe from afar since October 3. “I am in the process of weaning myself,” she says, laughing, before admitting that it is “a big mourning”. “I didn’t think it was going to be difficult like this, but it’s normal. »
While carrying out this “exciting” and “intense” work, the important thing is also to have fun, Christine St-Pierre reminds Alejandra Zaga Mendez. “That, I remember,” said the supportive MP, before heading to another meeting.