Prime Minister François Legault does not hate the comparison with Maurice Duplessis, who nevertheless led Quebec for more than 18 years and who was entitled to his statue on the grounds of parliament, but that does not mean that he should borrow all the ways.
Like the “leader”, he clearly hinted on a radio station in Longueuil that the voters of Marie-Victorin would do well to “vote on the right side” during the April 11 by-election if they want a bigger slice of the pie.
“When you have a CAQ MP who comes from the government, it’s much easier to send local files to his fellow ministers,” he explained. We suspected it a little, you will say. The admission is no less surprising. You have to believe that the fight in Marie-Victorin is tight.
When it was in opposition, the CAQ accused the Couillard government of systematically favoring the ridings represented by Liberal MPs. In 2016, she had gone through the list of projects selected under phase 3 of the Sports Facilities Support Program and had calculated that 87% of the budget envelope had been devoted to projects scattered in Liberal ridings. Mr. Couillard had not, however, given the recipe with as much candor as did Mr. Legault.
“I’m not saying that when you’re in opposition, it’s impossible,” the Prime Minister saw fit to qualify, but it’s much more difficult, if we rely on the program examined by the CAQ. The share of the envelope that went to the PQ ridings was 6%, that of the CAQ ridings, 2%.
Without going so far as to definitively rule out a project deemed to be of public interest, there is always a way to drag things out. In March 2018, Radio-Canada reported allegations to the effect that Gaétan Barrette would have asked that we delay after the election of 1er October the consolidation of specialized pediatric services on the South Shore at the Charles-LeMoyne hospital because it was located in Taillon, a riding represented by its PQ counterpart, Diane Lamarre.
Mr. Legault prides himself on saying frankly what he thinks, even if it means shocking some, but there are things that it is sometimes better to keep to yourself, even when you believe you are safe from prying ears.
Bernard Landry had learned this the hard way at the 2003 PQ convention. When he was advised to support a proposal aimed at guaranteeing the equality of men and women in politics, which was likely to please organizations that campaigned in favor of women’s rights courted by the PQ, he replied in an irritated tone, unaware of the presence of a microphone hanging from a pole: “Don’t talk to me about women’s groups… I prefer to meet the president of the SunLife. »
Mr. Legault also believed that we would not hear him, Thursday, in the National Assembly, when he described as “Mother Teresa” the solidarity member for Sherbrooke, Christine Labrie, who denounced the treatment reserved for women incapable of find a daycare place for their child.
Unfortunately, his remark was audible enough that even those watching Question Period on television would be able to pick it up. What’s more, the stands were occupied by several women members of the Ma place au travail movement, who will demonstrate in front of parliament on Saturday to demand emergency financial aid.
“He should apologize for his contempt […] I would like him to stop being contemptuous towards women who are impoverished, ”launched Mme Labrie. Concrete action on the occasion of the budget which will be presented on Tuesday would doubtless constitute the best of excuses.
Periodically, opposition parties have tried to label the government as ” boys’ club “. The Prime Minister has been criticized for being more indulgent towards the shortcomings of his male ministers than towards those of their female colleagues.
We cannot say that women voters shun the CAQ. According to the latest Leger poll on voting intentions, 42% of men and 40% of women support him. However, they are even less numerous (38%) than men (45%) to see in Mr. Legault the best candidate for the post of Prime Minister. His clumsiness will do nothing to enhance his feminist image and encourage them to vote “on the right side”.
The CAQ nevertheless does much better than the Conservative Party of Éric Duhaime, which collects twice as many voting intentions among men (18%) as among women (9%). The latter have more confidence in the PLQ than men (20% against 16%). Same thing in the case of QS (16% against 12%). In the PQ, it’s perfect equality at 10%.