(Quebec) If she is elected co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire (QS) in November, the MP for Mercier Ruba Ghazal plans to reach out to all people with immigrant backgrounds.
“Whether they were born in Quebec, whether they are newly arrived, I want to tell them: ‘I want QS to be your political home,’” she declared in an interview to mark the start of her campaign.
According to her, when they talk about immigration, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) and the Parti Québécois (PQ), but also the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), are “defeatist” and “divisive”.
“There are those who want to protect the majority against the minorities, the CAQ and the PQ, but there are also those who want to protect the minorities against the majority, that is very much the PLQ,” she says.
What I want is to create bridges between the majority and the minorities.
Ruba Ghazal, Member of Parliament for Mercier
The 46-year-old elected official of Palestinian origin is particularly harsh towards the PLQ, an “austerity” party which she accuses of having a discourse of inclusion and diversity that is “superficial”.
“When we cut public services, […] how can we help people from immigrant backgrounds who need a helping hand, a CPE, […] to be able to integrate? » she asks.
“For me, there are two keys: there must be strong public services and a social safety net, […] and strong integration into Quebec culture. »
Above all, she is angry with the PLQ for “raising scarecrows” and “scaring fear in the world”, particularly with regard to the right of Anglophones to obtain health services in English.
“What I want to say today to immigrants and their children is: ‘Slam the door on this austerity party, no matter who is going to be at the head of this party’,” she declares.
On the other hand, she criticizes the CAQ and the PQ for using immigrants as “scapegoats”.
“Things are not that simple. Yes, the immigration system is broken, but we have to do it in a reasonable and thoughtful way,” she says.
Mme Ghazal says that young people often ask her why she is pro-independence, because they associate nationalism with a “conservative identity discourse”.
“These are really the two trends that I want to fight,” she says, promising to bring “open and caring” discourse back into the public sphere.
Fundamentally, however, Ruba Ghazal does not deviate from the position of her party, which maintains that Quebec receives too many temporary immigrants.
“Saying that we want less is not the problem,” she argues. It’s when we say: “We want less of them because they are the cause of the housing crisis.” That can be offensive. »
Mme Ghazal is currently the only candidate in the running for the position of QS co-spokesperson. The deadline to submit your application form is October 15.
QS delegates will be asked to vote for their next female spokesperson during a virtual congress, which will take place on November 15 and 16.
The position has been vacant since the departure last April of Émilise Lessard-Therrien.