In the well-deserved praise that followed the announcement of Véronique Hivon’s retirement from politics, much emphasis was placed on one thing that had become her trademark: she did politics differently.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
It is true that during his 13 years in the National Assembly – including only 18 months in power -, Mme Hivon managed the feat of passing a law on an extremely sensitive subject such as medical aid in dying, without being in government.
His legacy is not limited to this law alone. This is even more the way she did it: a cross-party parliamentary committee where MNAs from all political parties toured Quebec to hear people, inform them, reassure them, explain to them what would be – and, perhaps even more importantly – what this law would not be.
Unfortunately, there are not many other examples of such collaboration in the National Assembly, which will lose some of its luster with the departure of Véronique Hivon.
The Parti Québécois (PQ) also lost one of its rare deputies known elsewhere than on Parliament Hill and in their riding. Of the nine elected in 2018, only four remain who still seem ready to stand again before their electors.
Nothing seems to work for the PQ since the last elections and the departure of Mme Hivon is a new blow that he must take as he prepares for an election campaign which promises to be the most difficult in his history.
But let’s come back to the concept of “doing politics differently” which will remain for many one of Véronique Hivon’s legacies. Because in this pre-election period, what we see is essentially petty politics.
The $500 check sent to the vast majority of Quebec citizens to fight inflation is one of those old-fashioned politics tactics that seem an irresistible temptation for a party in power.
The Desjardins movement, which cannot be accused of partisanship, made a severe criticism of this budgetary choice, noting that more progressive measures are preferable to a generalized tax credit when we want to protect the most vulnerable segments of the population.
But Quebecers, according to the latest Leger poll, like their $500 check. It’s a bit big and it’s like getting bought with your own money, but the voter seems to like it.
We could say the same thing about $500 plane tickets for better travel between regions and major centres. This is not a permanent solution, it does not solve the basic problem. But in the pre-election period, this is the kind of measure that will please.
On the other hand, looking to the longer term than the election deadline, as in the environmental file, simply does not seem to be a real concern for the government. And, in that time, there is no question of doing politics differently, we quickly return to the old methods.
A controversy currently affects woodland caribou, whose numbers are declining significantly. Faced with what he described as Quebec’s lack of will to protect this endangered species, the federal Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, initiated the procedure leading to a decree from the federal government under the Species at Risk Act.
Premier François Legault immediately declared that the federal government was threatening Quebec’s jurisdictions – which is not the case since the environment is a shared jurisdiction under the Constitution.
The Prime Minister then took up the old arguments that protecting an endangered species is fine, but on condition that it does not harm forestry jobs.
Then his Minister of Forests, Pierre Dufour, attributed the decline of the caribou population to the Innu, to the chagrin of his colleague in Aboriginal Affairs, Ian Lafrenière.
The file is now in the hands of the Minister of Canadian Intergovernmental Affairs, Sonia LeBel, question that it becomes a good old Quebec-Ottawa chicane in good and due form.
Obviously, we are five months away from the next election and we must not be so naive as to believe that partisan considerations will not weigh heavily between now and October 3.
But when we see a government that is looking for a fight instead of trying to avoid it, we understand that the CAQ government will try to blame anyone rather than trying to settle issues that do not won’t bring him much electorally.
The season of “doing politics differently” will still have to wait, it seems.