It is a woman who should preside over the National Assembly of Quebec this fall, believes Quebec solidaire (QS), which makes a formal request to the elected Prime Minister, François Legault.
In the history of Quebec, only one woman was briefly President of the National Assembly: it is the PQ Louise Harel in 2002, 20 years ago.
For the co-spokesperson of QS, Manon Massé, it is high time “to arrive at 21e century “. The presidency of the People’s House is not reserved for men, she insisted in an interview.
“There are more women than ever before in the National Assembly. Can we shake this institution and say: “Let’s try with a president to see what more it can bring”? »
Remember that the election of October 3 has gone down in history for having allowed the largest number of women ever (58) to be elected to the National Assembly.
François Legault’s Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) alone elected 41 women, 21 of whom already have parliamentary experience.
“It’s going to take someone who has the ‘pogne’, who knows the rules, but above all who will show great neutrality. I am sure that in the ranks of Mr. Legault, there is this profile, “says Ms. Massé.
“Skills of unifying, […] to make Parliament work, that’s not gendered. But would a feminine, feminist eye mean that there are practices that we would accept less? It’s possible.
“Would that mean that we would approach disputes differently? It’s possible. What I know is that in 2022, a woman president of the National Assembly of Quebec seems to me the thing to do, ”she insisted.
The person chosen must be elected by the Assembly to direct its work, administer its services and represent it.
She has a duty of reserve and must maintain the confidence of parliamentarians when she chairs the debates. She must ensure that all Members of Parliament, regardless of their political affiliation, have a voice.
The last person to have held this position is the caquiste François Paradis, who chose not to stand for re-election.
A strong signal
Manon Massé wants us to take advantage of this changing of the guard to “offer women a model of leadership”.
She points out that only 23% of the positions of presidents of assemblies or chambers in the world are occupied by women. This figure climbs to 30% in America.
“What message are we sending? That parliamentarism, democracy, is the business of men? […] Quebec is really ready to have role models of women who hold positions like that. »
If Prime Minister Legault puts forward a female candidacy, he will send a strong signal, that women have their place “in the highest places”, according to Ms. Massé.
In addition, the elected representative of Sainte-Marie — Saint-Jacques underlined the importance of the Circle of Women Parliamentarians, this place of reflection and sharing of experiences created in 2010 for female MPs.
” That idea, […] outside of partisanship, to address subjects that concern us and that concern us, I think it’s just healthy for democracy in Quebec, ”she insisted on recalling.