Prime Minister François Legault invited his deputies to maintain a united front on Tuesday and to avoid family bickering.
Mr. Legault issued this warning after the 90 elected members of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) were sworn in to the National Assembly.
“I do not tolerate any bickering in the family,” he then said in a speech to his deputies.
Mr. Legault stressed the importance of MPs working together and becoming friends.
“It’s a real family, the CAQ. In private, in caucus, we can tell each other everything but when we go out we are a united block, impossible to cross, ”he explained.
The CAQ caucus went from 76 to 90 deputies on October 3. The next important step, between now and the resumption of parliamentary proceedings on November 29, is the unveiling of the cabinet meeting on Thursday.
Mr. Legault repeated, as he had done during the election campaign, that the quality of the candidates recruited causes him “a great problem” for the formation of the Council of Ministers.
“It’s still such a problem,” he said, provoking laughter from his audience, which also included relatives of his deputies.
A record number of women elected to the CAQ
Mr. Legault pointed out that his training has elected 41 women, the highest number ever achieved in a party in the National Assembly.
“It’s important that women are where the real decisions are made,” he said.
Among them is also the first elected Aboriginal, Kateri Champagne-Jourdain, who represents the riding of René Lévesque on the North Shore.
Ms. Champagne-Jourdain also took the oath in French and Innu.
“It’s important to preserve and promote languages in Quebec,” she said then in a press scrum. This is also what the government has done for the past four years. »
The deputy for the riding of Sainte-Rose Christopher Skeete, who was responsible for relations with the English-speaking community, took the oath only in French, when he had also done so in English, in 2018 for his first performance.
“The official language of Quebec is French,” said Skeete in a press scrum, stressing the importance of “leading by example.”
While the PQ deputies announced that they would refuse to take the oath to King Charles III, all the CAQ members took part.
Hydro-Quebec and others
The Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Jonatan Julien, was reassured about the government’s relations with Hydro-Québec, following statements by President and CEO Sophie Brochu, who insisted last week on the importance of preserving the independence of the Crown corporation.
“It’s the first time I’ve heard of this and the governance framework is always respected,” he said.
Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon did not comment on reports published last week indicating that he could be reappointed to head a super ministry that would be responsible for Hydro-Quebec.
“At that point, it’s premature to talk about that,” he said. We’ll talk about it on Thursday. »
The Minister of Culture, Nathalie Roy has also confirmed her interest in the post of President of the National Assembly.
“I have been here since 2012 and I have always said that there might be room for improving parliamentary procedure,” she said after the ceremony. I have always been attracted by the parliamentary thing, whatever I had other hats. »
Sworn Liberals
On Tuesday, the 21 elected members of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) also took an oath to the people of Quebec and to the British crown. Some of them have chosen to be sworn in both French and English.
“The Liberal caucus is proudly the most feminine with 62% of women,” boasted Liberal leader Dominique Anglade during her speech, provoking thunderous applause.
While Ms. Anglade was delighted to have a “renewed” team, she said she was “entirely lucid” in relation to the historically low results obtained by her political party in the elections of October 3, with only 14.4% of the popular vote. Apart from Pontiac, in the Outaouais, the ridings won by the PLQ are in the region of Montreal, Laval or Montérégie. “We have work to do to reconnect with all of Quebec,” she acknowledged.
Ms. Anglade maintains that her political party will play its role of “watchdog”. ” Whether [le gouvernement] ignores the rights and freedoms of Quebecers, if he seeks to divide rather than unite, he will find the 21 members of the official opposition on his way, ”she said in French, before repeating this part speech in English.
With Marco Belair-Cirino, Florence Morin-Martel