It was the circumstances of the general election in October that moved the caucus of solidarity deputies away from the parity zone, believes Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “Our internal calculations put us in a situation of parity,” he said on Tuesday.
At a press conference in Quebec, the solidarity co-spokesperson was again forced to justify the imbalance in the representation of women and men within the deputation of Quebec solidaire (QS) – four women, seven men. The party will discuss this weekend in the national council several proposals aimed at ensuring parity in the caucus of Quebec.
“We were aiming for the election of Maïtée Labrecque-Saganash in Ungava, we came second, we weren’t that far behind. Mélissa Généreux in Saint-François, we came second, we weren’t that far behind. We wanted to elect Mrs. Carol-Ann Kack…”, listed Mr. Nadeau-Dubois on Tuesday. Internal party polls gave QS results likely to form a parity caucus, as in the last term, he said.
The solidarity delegates who will meet in the national council in Montreal on Friday, Saturday and Sunday will discuss a proposal for “that the national coordinating committee and the electoral committee be mandated to take the means at their disposal […] in order to ensure that the solidarity caucus is equal as quickly as possible, in particular by encouraging […] female candidates for future nominations”.
Seven local associations also ask “that means be developed and adopted in a future national body to impose female candidates in specific constituencies”.
Asked about these proposals, Mr. Nadeau-Dubois was open to studying mechanisms for QS to have both female and male deputies in the future.
“How do we reconcile decentralization and democracy with our parity objectives? […] There are associations that go so far as to say that the party leadership should be able to impose that it be a woman. Let’s discuss it. There are those who say that it is too much to encroach on the sovereignty of our [associations locales]. There are several possible mechanics, ”commented the solidarity co-spokesperson.
QS delegates will discuss various proposals relating to feminism, regions and independence this weekend in the national council.
Further details will follow.