Interview: Simon Jolin-Barrette, elected representative of the thousand and one reforms

He worked “as if there was no tomorrow” and suffered strong criticism for the delicate reforms which he was carrying out head-on. But more and more, the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, is freeing himself from the austere image that has stuck to his skin since his arrival in politics. Before the parliamentary holiday break, “Le Devoir” took stock of this hyperactive elected official.

The scene did not go unnoticed: eyes cloudy, throat tied, Simon Jolin-Barrette delivered his final remarks on the bill to create a specialized court in matters of sexual and domestic violence, on November 11 , by letting oneself be overcome by emotion.

“Everyone who knows me personally knows that I’m not like that, that I have emotions. »In the room of the Prime Ministers of the National Assembly, where he meets The duty, the minister rejects the label of “robot” that the media and even his leader, François Legault, have attached to him on the program Infoman.

” The casting in which we are sometimes placed, it is not done by us. Me, honestly, I try to listen as much as possible, I try to make the compromises that are necessary, as a leader [parlementaire] also ”, affirms the elected official, who is installed under the portraits of the ex-prime ministers Bernard Landry, Pauline Marois and Jean Charest.

Since entering politics, he has been driving at a breakneck pace. The minister – known as “reformer” by his entourage – has tabled 11 bills since October 2018. At the time when these lines were written, there were still posters in the metropolis recalling the controversy caused by his most recent legislative project, judged transphobic before it was patched to respond to criticism. “Jolin-Barrette, get out of my underwear”, we read here and there.

In an interview, Simon Jolin-Barrette denies having voluntarily softened his approach in recent months. “I haven’t changed as a person. I have always been an emotional person. But it is certain that, in the functions which I have, it is also necessary to show a determination and it is necessary to be able to deliver. There are a lot of criticisms in politics, ”he points out.

When he broke his teeth on the transformation of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), about fifty foreign students, some in tears, came to challenge him in the National Assembly. When he launched his reform of the law aimed at compensating victims of criminal offenses (IVAC), the father of Daphné Huard-Boudreault, murdered by her ex-spouse, asked the government if it had a heart. The Court of Quebec severely rebuked him when he tabled his bill to create a specialized tribunal. This same Court also sued him since it wishes – unlike the Minister – that its judges be able to express themselves in French and in English.

“It’s difficult, the critics,” drops the young elected. But he immediately adds that he has opened a series of yards for the right reasons. “So are the reforms perfect, in the best of all possible worlds? Maybe not. But these are significant advances that we are making. The reforms that we are carrying out have their share of challenges, but we are improving things a lot, ”he underlines.

Expected reforms

Many of the programs it transforms have been waiting for a tweak for decades. His review of IVAC? “We’ve been talking about it for 30 years, but it had not been done because previous ministers had not made it a priority,” he said. Reform of the Charter of the French language? “The Parti Québécois has never gone as far as us since 1977 [année de la loi 101] », Judge the chosen one.

He has also undertaken an overhaul of family law, the principles of which date back to the 1980s. As of January, he expects the first pilot projects of the court specializing in domestic and sexual violence to unfold. This will be a first in Quebec.

“Me, I think that in politics, there is no tomorrow”, he launches when The duty asks him how long he will be able to keep up. “Politics is a time in our life when people trust us. They give us a representative mandate. So while you’re there, you “are much better off” doing what. Because you might not be there next time. “

Mr. Jolin-Barrette says he saw “lots of politicians doing nothing, sitting down and sleeping on gas”. “But me, that’s not the approach I’m taking,” he adds, as if it was necessary to emphasize this obvious again.

Politics is a time in our life when people trust us. They give us a representative mandate. So while you’re there, you “are much better off” doing what. Because you might not be there next time.

Despite the differences that have attracted the attention of the public, he ensures that collaboration with institutions (the Court of Quebec, the Judicial Council, the Bar) has been going “very well” since he took office. “I believe that, in a democracy, each institution plays its role,” he says. “Of course I, as Minister of Justice, want things to change, I want to improve them, and that’s why I’m in politics. “

The Minister insists on the necessary modernization of the justice system and the law. “It is not because it has been working like this for years that it should not be modernized,” he believes. “And the brake on change is in several places in society. […] The right, sometimes it is ahead, sometimes it is behind. And often in the last few years he was further back. “

Two years ago, a portrait of Mr. Jolin-Barrette presented him as a “discreet nationalist”. He smiles when reminded. “It’s hard to hide that I’m a nationalist,” he laughs. At the very end of the meeting, he insisted on the importance of his reform of the Charter of the French language. “We will continue to make reforms and we will not stop there,” he assures us.

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