National Council in Saint-Hyacinthe | “Quebec solidaire will have to change”

(Saint-Hyacinthe ) Quebec solidaire faces the real risk of “capping” as an opposition party, recognizes Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. The party will have to change by 2026 to avoid this fate, and is embarking on a tour of the regions to “brainstorm ideas”.

“The risk of capping, we are aware of it. We don’t live in a world of unicorns. […] Québec solidaire will have to change, ”launched the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire (QS) on Saturday at a press briefing as part of his party’s National Council, which is being held over the weekend in Saint-Hyacinthe.

Mr. Nadeau-Dubois, accompanied by co-spokesperson Manon Massé, announced a major tour of the regions. Its objective: to meet activists, but also people, groups and companies that do not support the party, and to do some introspection.

He did not deny that it is the Parti Québécois (PQ) which is benefiting, in recent polls, from the decline in popularity of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ). A recent Léger poll commissioned by Quebecor, carried out from June 9 to 12, gave 37% of voting intentions to the CAQ, 23% to the PQ, 16% to QS, 13% to the Liberal Party and 9% to the Conservative Party.

“Since the last election, we see that QS is stable. The optimistic reading: our support is solid and the victory in Saint-Henri–Sainte-Anne is proof of that. The pessimistic reading: this is the risk of a ceiling. Both are true. We have work to do to avoid this risk,” added Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.

Avoid the echo chamber

The party’s elected officials will therefore be on the road all fall and part of the winter. The first stops: Outaouais, Bas-Saint-Laurent and Mauricie, where they will talk about social services, mining claims, agriculture and help for the elderly, in particular.

After the tour, the next important step will be the National Council in May 2024. The parliamentary leader indicates that everything will be on the table: the party’s program, its electoral platform, the communications department, the party’s organization, everything can be modified according to the results of the regional tour.

Race

This tour will be combined with the race to succeed Manon Massé as the party’s female co-spokesperson. The member for Sherbrooke, Christine Labrie, already has a strong lead of support within the QS caucus, with four elected. MP Sol Zanetti lines up behind Ruba Ghazal.

Elected officials Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, Étienne Grandmont, Haroun Bouazzi and parliamentary leader Alexandre Leduc all lined up behind the one they describe as a “unifier”.

Mr. Leduc’s decision to take a position in this race while he is an officer may come as a surprise. “I am not bound by neutrality. In my role as leader, I will keep myself a little embarrassed to campaign, I will remain calm, ”said Mr. Leduc. He praised the “unifying and unifying” side of M^me Labrie. He also revealed that he was in a relationship with her. “She’s my sweetheart now,” he explained.

ARTM must force its president to give up his second job, according to QS

The deputy for Taschereau, Etienne Grandmont, is indignant at the decision of the chairman of the board of directors of the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain (ARTM), Patrick Savard, to combine two jobs, while public transport needs are very big. The Press revealed that the rag is burning at the ARTM, where Mr. Savard has faced strong opposition since he announced that he intended to combine two jobs, becoming director general of the Order of Engineers of Quebec. His compensation as chairman of the ARTM board could approach $200,000. “It’s expensive to pay if it’s a job part-time,” denounced Mr. Grandmont. He asks the organization to change its rules and force Mr. Savard to choose between these two jobs.

Lack of height

The former member of Quebec solidaire and candidate for the succession of Manon Massé Émilise Lessard-Therrien did not appreciate the comments of her colleague Christine Labrie. Friday, M.^me Labrie said she “demonstrated in 2018 and 2022 that I am able to not only break into QS in an area where there was not already solid support, but also to maintain this support.” . M^me Lessard-Therrien, beaten in her riding in 2022, did not like it. “I found that perhaps it lacked a bit of height as a commentary. There are several things that explain the defeat. »

Minister of Speculation

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois continued to hammer home the housing issue by attacking the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau. He asked Quebecers to write personally to France-Élaine Duranceau and François Legault through a Québec solidaire website to ask them to back down on their desire to limit lease assignments. Mr. Nadeau-Dubois fiercely criticizes the Minister of Housing, whom he renamed “Minister of Speculation”, because she participated in a real estate “flip”.