This summer, René Lévesque would have been 100 years old. Until August 24th, anniversary date, The duty highlights on all its platforms the memory of the founder of the Parti Québécois, one of the greatest prime ministers in the history of Quebec, with the 100 years series by René Lévesque.
René Lévesque wanted to give more powers to cities and regions, according to Michel Lemieux, who was chief of staff to former PQ minister Guy Tardif. The latter was notably at the head of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs from 1976 to 1980, under the Lévesque government.
“I remember hearing [M. Lévesque] say: we will not make independence to strengthen the power of civil servants in Quebec, said Mr. Lemieux. From his point of view, a certain number of powers could have been recovered from the federal government and would have been managed regionally or locally. »
Ultimately, the father of the PQ wanted to establish regional governments, explains Mr. Lemieux. “But the obligatory step was to create MRCs [municipalités régionales de comté]. They were therefore set up following the adoption of the Act respecting land use planning and development in 1979.
The former PQ leader notably wanted the prefects of the MRCs to be elected by universal suffrage, underlines Michel Lemieux, who was also a political adviser to his cabinet. To date, a few MRCs have adopted Lévesque’s idea.
“Perhaps it’s his Gaspé origin, [mais M. Lévesque disait que] the closer you make decisions to people, the better those decisions are,” says Mr. Lemieux.
A unifying politician
The former mayor of Baie-Saint-Paul Jean Fortin also says he was inspired by the unifying side of René Lévesque, whom he never had the chance to meet. “It is this approach [que je retiens de M. Lévesque]to be close to people and to be able to work with them, no matter who they are, ”notes the man who retired in 2021, after 25 years at the head of the City.
It is in particular by being “very present” with the population that Jean Fortin was able to contribute to the consolidation of three municipalities (city of Baie-Saint-Paul, parish of Baie-Saint-Paul and municipality of Rivière-du-Gouffre). , in 1996, he believes.
Jean Fortin says he was inspired throughout his career by the realism shown by the former PQ leader. “I think he was able to say yes, we have a vision, but in the meantime, we must continue to build Quebec. »
Values bequeathed to the municipality
René Lévesque’s great listening and openness were sources of inspiration for Marc Demers, mayor of Laval from 2013 to 2021. [Ces valeurs]it applies to all authorities, whether municipal, provincial or federal,” adds the man who had a career in politics long after the Lévesque period.
Mr. Demers recounts having decided to run as a candidate for mayor of Laval in 2013 in the wake of the multiple corruption scandals that erupted under former mayor Gilles Vaillancourt. He says he said to himself: [Soit] I go on with my business, I pretend that I don’t see anything and we let it go, [soit] I am the example of René Lévesque and I say no, no, you get involved and we will see what will happen. »
According to him, the father of the PQ was able to maintain a balance between informing citizens and guiding them. ” The [rôle du] leader is to try to explain the beneficial effects of change, what will happen and why. This is what René Lévesque did about independence, notes Mr. Demers, who was a PQ candidate in the Quebec elections in 2007 and 2008.
A “people of owners”
In his vision of Quebec, René Lévesque “wanted us to become a people of owners,” emphasizes Guy Lachapelle, professor of political science at Concordia University. Access to property, an issue at the heart of the debates in 1976, was necessary so that Francophones could increase their average income, he explains.
To do this, in 1982, the Corvée-Habitation program was set up, led by Minister Guy Tardif. The latter was then Minister of Housing and Consumer Protection. With this common front making it possible to offer advantageous mortgage interest rates to future owners, approximately 56,000 housing units have been built in three years.
The name “Corvée-Habitation” is symbolic, notes Mr. Lachapelle. “In our story, doing a chore is when everyone joins in the effort and works to do something collaboratively. »
The Logipop program, introduced in 1977, gave new impetus to housing cooperatives by offering subsidies for their start-up. “In all regions, I think it gave the mayors a boost,” concludes Guy Lachapelle.