Between February and June, the Legault government passed 23 bills, several of which “gave protections to the population,” says the government’s parliamentary leader, Simon Jolin-Barrette.
In an interview on Tuesday, Mr. Jolin-Barrette – who is also Minister of Justice – praised the “strong” legislative record of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), at a time when the latter is lagging behind the Parti Québécois (PQ ) in the polls.
“In Parliament, we have done serious work. […] We are really oriented so that there are concrete differences in the lives of citizens,” he insisted, before listing a series of bills which, according to him, marked the last parliamentary session.
The leader of the government first names bills 31 and 65, led by the Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, which will serve to “fight against evictions and give more protection to tenants”, according to him.
He also talks about the legislative work done by ministers Lionel Carmant and Isabelle Charest, who respectively created a Commissioner for the well-being and rights of children, and a Protector of integrity in leisure and sport.
In Education and Family, Bernard Drainville and Suzanne Roy have also strengthened the protection of children at school (particularly against sexual violence) and in educational daycare services.
In addition to having smoothly reformed the construction industry, the Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet, passed Bill 42 aimed at combating psychological harassment and sexual violence in the workplace.
Mr. Jolin-Barrette himself completed two major legislative pieces: Bill 54 which aims to reduce delays in the justice system, and above all, Bill 56 which regulates rights and obligations de facto spouses with children.
“This is one of the very good sessions on the legislative level,” he maintained. These are bills which, over time, will change many things for Quebecers. [et] I think people recognize the progress. »
How, then, does he explain the bad polls? Is the legislative record really reflected in the population?
“We continue to work on subjects that are important to Quebecers and people’s trust is earned every day,” dodges Mr. Jolin-Barrette.
He also does not wish to comment on the good evaluations given to him by several columnists, brushing aside questions about his personal ambitions, his political future and the possibility of him running one day as aspiring leader of the CAQ.
“I am especially happy with the parliamentary session that we had from the government point of view, because it is really team work,” he limited himself to saying in an interview.
“The political function and the responsibilities that we have are a moment that is lent to us, and the objective is to ensure that we improve the living conditions of our fellow citizens. »