The caquistes follow François Legault without saying a word. In any case, no less than 98.61% of the members of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) gathered in Sherbrooke over the weekend gave him their support… after having seen him plunge into controversy (due to the appointment of a friend of the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, to a post of judge), making “difficult decisions” (supporting a marked increase in the remuneration of elected officials) and breaking promises, starting with that of build a road tunnel between Quebec and Lévis.
Moreover, strangely, none of the approximately 1,000 people registered for the 2023 Congress organized on the theme “The Quebec of the future, the future of Quebec” expressed to him in person their anger or their disappointment at seeing the project of third road link deleted from the CAQ program. “The activists who spoke to me about it, it was to tell me that they agreed,” noted Mr. Legault at a press conference on Sunday.
No one has criticized Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault — who formalized the decision on Parliament Hill nearly a month ago — either. A resident of Lévis simply asked him on Saturday evening to present his “vision of mobility” in Quebec in front of the hundreds of activists gathered in the large hall of the Sherbrooke Fair Center.
“The caquistes are pragmatic. They understand that when a situation changes, you have to adjust. They also understand that it’s never all black or all white,” explained Mr. Legault, saying he was convinced that the members of the CAQ “appreciate that, with [son] crew, [il] continually weigh the pros and cons” of a decision.
No caquiste appeared either in front of television cameras to deplore the end of the third link project, which the CAQ nevertheless defended with energy until April 20.
SPQ Libre members Marc Laviolette and Pierre Dubuc, who always found a way to loudly express their independentist, progressive and unionist beliefs during a Parti Québécois activity to which they were invited, even if it meant displeasing the other participants or to the leader, would have been overthrown by the perfect harmony – in appearance who less – which reigned between François Legault and the members of his political formation.
“We remain a young party,” said CAQ president Sarah Beaumier.
Armed with their “pragmatism”, the members of the CAQ therefore moved on, according to the Prime Minister.
“Open to all good ideas”
They were debating this weekend the possibility of allowing right turns at red lights on the island of Montreal or even instituting a tax credit for volunteers. After a few exchanges, they finally refused to go ahead with either of these two proposals.
On the other hand, they agreed to recommend to the Legault government to exempt from tax the overtime worked by a worker. The problem: the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, rejected it before flying to Europe, praising the progressive tax, where “the more income you have, the more taxes you pay “.
The caquistes were careful not to suggest to the Council of Ministers to smash the monopoly of the Société des alcools du Québec (SAQ), after having seen the same Eric Girard display his reluctance over the past few weeks. The proposal to “end the monopoly of the SAQ on the alcohol market in Quebec” defended by the association of Saint-Jérôme – and its deputy, Youri Chassin – was beaten in silence.
The Caquists lined up behind the idea of building a high-speed train (TGV) between Quebec and Montreal; François Legault also… provided that “Ottawa finances it”.
To dispel the impression that the CAQ is the party of one man, François Legault promised to take a look at the 26 proposals selected out of 32. “I am open to all good ideas”, he repeated on Sunday . Afterwards, these must correspond to the “priorities” set by his government.
He disapproved of ministers’ eagerness to reject proposals from CAQ members, saying he was not bound by the positions taken by their political party. “We are not technically related. We are morally bound, “said Mr. Legault.
Will the CAQ government pay a single amount of $1,000 into a Registered Education Savings Plan at the birth or adoption of each child in Quebec, or will it issue “a francophone cultural passport quebec for young people”, as the participants of the congress asked him? We’ll see.
“At some point, we can’t work on all the ideas. You have to choose those that have priority, ”concluded Mr. Legault.
He left the Sherbrooke Fair Center happy. CAQ members too.