In the bad theater that politics too often presents, demanding the resignation of a minister constitutes a sort of imposed figure for the opposition, even if they know perfectly well that it is a doom and gloom. The Liberal MP for Saint-Laurent, Marwah Rizqy, also an excellent parliamentarian, has made it a specialty.
In November 2019, she called for the departure of the Minister of Immigration at the time, Simon Jolin-Barrette, whom she criticized for having lacked sensitivity in his reform of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), which had turned into a fiasco. Its boss, Pierre Arcand, who had been acting since the departure of Philippe Couillard, was the first to be surprised by this outing, immigration not being an issue that Mr.me Rizqy was responsible. She herself later admitted to having lacked experience by letting her heart speak.
In 2021, she called twice rather than once for the resignation of the Minister of Education, Jean-François Roberge. It is true that his colleagues from the PQ and QS, Véronique Hivon and Christine Labrie, also demanded the head of Mr. Roberge, accusing him of his poor management of the pandemic in schools.
If he was still in office despite such a disastrous record, it is because he was a protégé of Prime Minister Legault and he was part of the boys clubthen supported Mme Rizqy. “If it was not Jean-François Roberge, but rather Marie-France Roberge, he would no longer have held his position. »
In an interview given to The Press last September, she said she had calmed down since then. Over time, she understood that “the worst way to obtain the resignation of a minister is to ask for it.” We can indeed wonder whether the Minister of Cybersecurity and Digital Affairs, Éric Caire, would still be in office if Mr. Legault had not been urged to get rid of him.
Chase away the natural and it comes galloping back. This week, Mme Rizqy was careful not to formally demand that of the president of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, but it is just like that. “She’s no longer the right woman” to negotiate with the unions that represent the state’s 600,000 employees, she said.
During the last round of negotiations, Mme LeBel had nevertheless managed to reach agreements with all those who are today on a war footing. It would be surprising to say the least if she had suddenly lost all her means. Anyway, who should replace her? We still can’t send Christian Dubé back to the Treasury!
This time, Mme Rizqy aimed at the wrong target. Simon Jolin-Barrette and Jean-François Roberge had undoubtedly erred, but it is not the fault of Mme LeBel if the government chose to forgo billions in revenue by lowering taxes and handing out checks everywhere.
Even if his meeting on Wednesday with the leaders of the Common Front were to allow a certain pruning of the demands on both sides, it is asking a lot of him to convince the unions to give up what they practically consider as ancestral rights, notably the advantages of sacrosanct seniority, to obtain more “flexibility” in the organization of work, if it has nothing substantial to offer them in return.
By force of circumstances, the President of the Treasury Board has become responsible for the success or failure of health and education reforms, which will weigh heavily in the report that the CAQ will present to voters in the fall of 2026. Mme LeBel must not only prevent public services from being disrupted for too long, but also make them more efficient without causing discontent that would encourage more state employees to leave their jobs and thus worsen recruitment difficulties.
She would surely like her colleagues, if not helping her, to at least stop harming her. Last spring, teachers were insulted by the comments of the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, who suggested that their work was less important than that of the deputies, who had been entitled to a 30% increase. .
This week, the unions representing health care workers accused Christian Dubé of creating a “zone of turbulence” by tabling a series of amendments to Bill 15 which will reorganize the various job categories in order to favor better treatment. differentiated salary.
After his unfortunate decision to pay up to seven million dollars to the Los Angeles Kings to come and play two preparatory games in Quebec, the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, had the good idea not to rub salt in the wound and to cancel his trip to New York, where he planned to meet NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Until the end of the negotiations, anything that could be perceived as provocative should absolutely be avoided.