Metropolis attack | Pauline Marois regrets her discretion

10 years ago, a first woman in power… and a political attack.

(Quebec ) These days, Pauline Marois feels a twinge of heart when she looks at the calendar. On September 4, 2012, ten years ago, she was elected Prime Minister. For the first time, Quebecers had a woman in power. A minority mandate.

But when she sees the news, it’s downright pain she feels. The current debate on the rise of violence, the climate of hatred and the threats against the candidates still resonate with her.

His victory was overshadowed by a deadly attack on the sidelines of the partisan rally at Metropolis, in downtown Montreal. Richard Henry Bain’s weapon jammed, but he had time to kill a stage technician, Denis Blanchette, and seriously injure another, Dave Courage. Bain will be sentenced to life in prison, without the possibility of parole for 20 years. At the trial brought by victims, it will be noted that six death threats were made against Mr.^me Marois, on social networks in particular, on the day of the elections.

M^me Marois chose not to talk much about the event at the time, remembers Dominique Lebel, who became deputy chief of staff. She did not want her start of term to be overshadowed by this dark moment.

But the shooter wanted to be the armed wing of Anglo-Quebecers, and M^me Marois did not want to “exacerbate relations with the English-speaking community”.

According to her, the last few months have given rise to an increase in hatred, violence and frustration. “My feeling is that there is an increase in violent language towards women and politicians. This appeared “particularly in the wake of the conspiracy movement, [du] dissatisfaction with pandemic health measures”. “We did not succeed in curbing the protest movement in Ottawa, it influenced other people, unconsciously,” she believes.

Departures and Challenges

In 2012, Jean Charest called the election on 1^er August, for an election on September 4. Quebec was still marked by the turbulence of the maple spring. The Liberal leader had made his announcement on an airport tarmac, to avoid any risk of demonstration. After three elections, torn by the debate on integrity, he had bet on a divisive proposal: asking voters to choose between social peace and clashes in the street. He will be beaten in his riding of Sherbrooke, but the PLQ, with 50 deputies, will have only 4 fewer seats than the PQ.

Pauline Marois had entered the electoral campaign destabilized, observes Nicole Stafford, chief of staff and above all perpetual adviser to the former prime minister. The 18 months leading up to the election had been a veritable way of the cross for her, although she obtained the support of 93% of delegates at the April 2011 convention. This period had been marked by a cascade of resignations among deputies. First Benoit Charette, Daniel Ratthé, François Rebello, hypnotized by the rise of François Legault’s new party, the Coalition avenir Québec. Then the untimely departures of Louise Beaudoin, Pierre Curzi, Lisette Lapointe, dissatisfied in particular with the support of their party for the amphitheater project of Mayor Régis Labeaume. Jean-Martin Aussant will also leave to form a new sovereignist party, National Option, a maneuver that will harm the chances of the PQ in several constituencies where the race was tight, estimates Stafford.

For the PQ leader, only two good news during these difficult months: Daniel Breton, a well-known environmentalist, announced that he would be the party’s candidate and, unexpectedly, the columnist Stéphane Laporte described M^me Marois as “the concrete woman”, the very embodiment of resilience.

At the start of 2012, the CAQ was at the top of the polls, with 39%, and the PQ was bottoming out with 18%. On September 4, the PQ and the PLQ were squarely neck and neck, with 31% of the vote. The CAQ, which started the campaign with a bang with the candidacy of ex-policeman Jacques Duchesneau, ended up with 27%, for 19 seats. The “non-liberal” vote obtained by François Legault explains the short victory of Pauline Marois. Why such a disappointing result for the PQ? “I think it’s because we were carrying the sovereignty project. With each election, we gradually saw a decline of the Parti Québécois. We had a good team, we proposed exciting government policies, but sovereignty was less supported. That doesn’t mean it isn’t necessary! “, still believes M^me Marois.

Regrets ? “Little things. “About Gentilly – the region had found the closure of the plant quickly announced by Mr.^me Marois after the elections.

The beginning of the Marois government gave rise to a cascade of very rapid decisions. “The first six months have been a rolling fire. I feel that the attack created a sense of urgency, ”insists Sylvain Tanguay, director of the PQ, at the center of the electoral strategy.

The test of facts

More recently, Jean St-Gelais, secretary general of the government chosen by Mr.^me Marois, observed that she had governed without realizing that she was in the minority in the National Assembly. “He’s right, I made the same observation, we could have acted differently. We didn’t come up with things that we hadn’t announced. We had been in the opposition for nine years, there had been congresses, national councils, we arrived with a complete program, we had not improvised measures two months before the elections, ”recalls Pauline Marois .

But the PQ commitment to abolish the “health tax” introduced under Jean Charest quickly suffered the test of facts. Public finances did not allow this to be done. In order not to hit the middle class too hard, we will opt for a reduction that would take income into account. The commitment to return to a balanced budget will also be postponed.

Another mistake? “The Charter of Values ​​should have been called the Charter of Secularism, that would have better explained our objective of introducing secularism in our institutions, that it was based on equality between men and women”, considers now M^me Marois. Bernard Drainville’s charter will never be adopted, but a series of reforms to electoral law will be implemented, however — the maximum contribution will be reduced from $3,000 to $100. Diane De Courcy’s reform of Law 101 will never be adopted.

The first law passed by his government will aim to ensure integrity and transparency in the awarding of public contracts. “We have found social peace” by reducing the planned increases in tuition fees, which had triggered the movement of the red squares, also recalls M^me Marois. In the fall of 2013, many in the PQ wanted to call an election quickly, but the entourage of M^me Marois will want to play it safe. In the spring of 2014, the Minister of Finance, Nicolas Marceau, tabled a budget, and the elections will be called even before it is defeated in the House.

“For 18 months of mandate, I find that we were not worse”, to conclude M^me Marois.