By Catherine Dorion’s own admission, the former member of Québec Solidaire did not have “a strong desire to become an MP”. She even judged that a victory in Taschereau would be “a little sad”. Catherine Dorion has never renounced this contempt for the office and its democratic responsibilities.
In his book The hotheads, she strives to denigrate the National Assembly and the work that goes on there. A “vain parliamentary exercise” which confines the opposition to “powerlessness”. Daily activities marked by “emptiness”, orchestrated around a “bad faith” question period. Parliamentary democracy is nothing more than a big, useless theater in his eyes.
That Catherine Dorion has such bad memories of her time in politics is heartbreaking. But his slander of the role of deputy is not justified.
Some of his findings are legitimate. It is true that a majority government too often ignores the contributions of the opposition. It nevertheless happens that they are retained – they are far from being as futile, therefore, as she claims.
It is also true that partisan politics and parliamentarism impose a straitjacket which can be restrictive. Rather than stubbornly refusing to participate, Catherine Dorion could have used her uniqueness to reform them.
It is true, finally, that the media gave disproportionate importance to his hoodies. However, the elected representative could have taken advantage of this notoriety to boost the social movement that she prides herself on having wanted to launch.
Other rebellious or non-conformist personalities entered the Blue Room and the Commons before her, and they chose to advance political and social debates there. In the solidarity ranks, Amir Khadir tabled six bills in his first term; Manon Massé, eight (one of whom was adopted). By introducing the same legislative text three times, New Democrat Roméo Saganash convinced Justin Trudeau to make it law.
In four years, Catherine Dorion has not presented a single one. His quest for irreverence at all costs mainly resulted in inertia. That she abdicated her powers as a deputy out of pure protest in no way reflects the real scope of the function.
To pretend otherwise is sinister when, in every corner of the world, democracy is being called into question.