The new spokesperson for Québec solidaire (QS), Émilise Lessard-Therrien, plans to devote herself full time to her new role. To do this, she will receive a salary from the party office.
“It’s a position that is super full-time, that’s why there will be compensation attached to that,” she explained in an interview with The Canadian Press the day after her election. .
The terms of her remuneration have not yet been established, but Émilise Lessard-Therrien has indicated that she will ask for less than the equivalent of a basic MP salary – set at around $130,000 per year.
“I did not take their arguments personally”
The former solidarity MP for Rouyn-Noranda–Témiscamingue succeeds Manon Massé after a very close race: only three votes separated her from her closest rival Ruba Ghazal.
During the race, Émilise Lessard-Therrien was the target of well-intentioned attacks from her opponents. Christine Labrie had suggested that she would be the best spokesperson, because she had managed to keep her seat in 2022.
Last week, Radio-Canada revealed that Ruba Ghazal’s final argument was particularly aimed at Émilise Lessard-Therrien. It was said in particular that she “would be evacuated from the media space” because she did not have a seat in the National Assembly, again according to the public broadcaster.
Despite these attacks, the new spokesperson assures that her opponents have rallied behind her. “I didn’t take their arguments personally. […] The girls assured me that they would work with me, that they had my full confidence. That they were going to support me in this,” she explained.
QS has been repeating for several months that it wants to reach the regions and Émilise Lessard-Therrien assures that she can influence the public discussion so that sectors located outside the major centers are taken into consideration. “Medicine is very much geared towards specialization, being at the cutting edge of technology, whereas we, in many hospitals in more remote regions, what we need is versatility. “, she explains.
“We need surgeons who still do cesarean sections because otherwise women will no longer be able to give birth nearby,” adds M.me Lessard-Therrien to illustrate his point.
The 32-year-old woman campaigned on the need for QS to reach out to Quebecers in the regions, emphasizing food sovereignty, a promising and “structuring” project, according to her. “My ultimate goal is for QS to take root in new territories, in rural areas. »
Although she wishes to take advantage of her status as extra-parliamentary spokesperson to meet groups on the ground, Émilise Lessard-Therrien also wishes to be present at the National Assembly with her caucus colleagues. “It will depend on the situation, but I would like to go at least once a month,” she says.