Simon Jolin-Barrette is the only one to concretely illustrate the autonomist claims of the CAQ. Language “Bill 96” would have had more teeth if the Prime Minister had let him, but he was able to take advantage of the clumsiness of the Liberals, who proposed an amendment forcing all English CEGEP students to take three courses in French. It kickstarted a long-awaited family law reform. HAS
Exceptional post-pandemic growth is making life easy for Finance Minister Eric Girard, but sending a $500 check to counter the effects of inflation to all taxpayers with incomes below $100,000 was grossly electoralist. Even Doug Ford thought it fairer to target those earning less than $50,000. B
Sales of Quebec products in supermarkets have increased by 17% since 2020, and the UPA has expressed the wish to see André Lamontagne keep Agriculture for a second term. Another separatist whose repentance is perplexing. B
Nathalie Roy (Culture and Communications) finally gave birth to a law on the status of the artist, which earned her a concert of praise. Despite its promise to end the savage demolitions, heritage gems unfortunately continue to disappear. B
Despite the contradictory versions of the crisis in CHSLDs that she had presented over the months, Marguerite Blais was rehabilitated by coroner Géhane Kamel. The Prime Minister’s Office had inelegantly rushed the announcement of her departure, but she can end her career in style. B
Everyone recognizes Christian Dubé’s excellent performance during the pandemic, but his plan to “rebuild” the health network and the agreement with general practitioners actually constitute a breach of his party’s promise to provide access to family doctor to all Quebecers. Contrary to what had also been promised, the wait time in the emergency room has increased. Presented too late, his bill on medical assistance in dying died on the order paper. B-
Jean Boulet (Labour, Immigration) has undertaken to restrict access to unsubsidized private colleges, which are a fast immigration route for foreign English-speaking students. However, he had to retire miserably after saying he found it “reasonable” to raise the immigration thresholds from 50,000 to 58,000 to combat the labor shortage. B-
The imposition of the anti-reconciliation bracelet on sexual aggressors, a first in Canada, is to be attributed to Geneviève Guilbault. She bitterly lost her showdown with the mayor of Quebec over the tramway project. She seemed overwhelmed by the proliferation of shootings in Montreal and Laval. B-
Former Minister of Health Danielle McCann, since transferred to Higher Education, had a very bad time during the hearings of Coroner Kamel. She, too, can nevertheless end her time in politics on a high note with the adoption of the Act respecting academic freedom in the university environment. B-
There is little to complain about Sonia LeBel’s performance at the Treasury Board, even if the promised transfer of 5,000 civil servants to the regions will stretch out until 2028. In her capacity as Minister responsible for Canadian Relations, she has unable to satisfactorily explain the disappearance of his correspondence with Ottawa, whose continual rebuffs do not seem to erode his federalist fiber. VS
On paper, Mathieu Lacombe’s “Great work for families” is impressive, but that does not solve the problem of those who are looking for a place in daycare now. Rather than the 50,000 places that four-year-old kindergartens were to free up, it now promises 37,000 new places in… 2025. VS
The strategy to promote school personnel advocated by Jean-François Roberge has its merits, but the problem of the shortage of teachers remains unsolved. The new National Student Ombudsman Act has been hailed by parents, but called a “missed opportunity” by Aboriginal people. VS
Despite all of Ian Lafrenière’s desire for reconciliation, the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Quebec-Labrador, Ghislain Picard, spoke of “four years of missed appointments”. The adoption of “Law 96” further complicated its task. VS
Caroline Proulx (Tourism) should have corrected the law she had passed in March 2021, which has the effect of encouraging the proliferation of Airbnb-type tourist residences, which aggravates the housing crisis. Worse, we granted a loan of 30 million to a multinational that operates a hundred in residential buildings in Montreal. VS-
Andrée Laforest paid lip service to the existence of the housing crisis, without providing a solution. Its new National Policy on Architecture and Land Use Planning is filled with good intentions, but has all the appearances of those documents that end up on the shelves. VS-
New York State’s power sales contract confounded skeptics, but Jonatan Julien waited until the last minute to introduce a bill, which failed to pass, to limit the rise in electricity rates and thus correct another law that he had recklessly passed under a gag order in 2019. VS-
It’s very good to finally allow the regions to be connected to the major centers at more affordable rates, but the $500 return flights will not meet the demand. The lower cost of the third link doesn’t make it more desirable. François Bonnardel made a fool of himself by calling urban densification a mere “fashion”. D
The Sustainable Development Commissioner has harshly criticized the use of the Electrification and Climate Change Fund. Benoit Charette also caused consternation by saying that the third link would be a brake on urban sprawl. How can a Minister of the Environment defend the increase in the standard on nickel in the air? D
The installation of Moderna in Quebec rather than in Ontario was a good move. Everyone recognizes the competence of Pierre Fitzgibbon, but he quickly fell back into his ethical failings by going to dinner with a lobbyist friend the same evening when the State was investing 98 million in a company that had hired him. D
The chronic inability of Minister of Forests, Wildlife and Parks, Pierre Dufour, to come up with a rescue plan for woodland caribou, which he compared to cod, gave Ottawa another opportunity to meddle in Quebec affairs. E