The Legault government was re-elected four months ago, but the real start of its second term was on Tuesday, with the resumption of work in the National Assembly after a very brief session in December.
Obviously, the government has been busy all these weeks, but from now on, it will no longer totally control the message and will have to answer almost daily for its actions to the opposition parties and the parliamentary press.
Three major issues occupied the government and the National Assembly: Hydro-Québec, French and the effect of labor shortages on the missions of the State.
The debate on energy began with the appointment of Pierre Fitzgibbon as minister responsible for the file, quickly followed – cause and effect relationship or not – by the resignation of the president of Hydro-Québec.
We have seen the government change its rhetoric on this issue in recent days. During the election campaign, Prime Minister François Legault practically ordered the construction of new dams. In recent days, it has turned green.
Dams will still be built, but it will be to decarbonize Quebec. However, it will still take 50% more electrical capacity. So no more roadblocks.
Tuesday, at the National Assembly, the Prime Minister was delighted that there are too many companies that want to invest in Quebec and that “we will have the choice of the best projects”.
The problem is that the government will end up picking winners and losers in the race for kilowatts. Which doesn’t reassure everyone, especially when you know the scrupulous respect that the Minister of Energy had for the opinions of the Ethics Commissioner.
We will need a mechanism with absolutely exemplary transparency to avoid arbitrariness and favoritism in the choice of projects that will be retained.
The second issue that will occupy the government is the question of French, with the formation of a ministerial committee that will look into ways “to stop trying to exist”, in the words of the Minister of the French Language. , Jean-Francois Roberge.
This is amazing because only a few months ago the government was arguing that Bill 96, passed shortly before the elections, should do just that. Today, it is as if this law had been written with chalk on a blackboard. We wipe and we start again…
This is proof that Law 96 was essentially a public relations exercise intended to show – before the elections – that the government cared about the fate of French. A law that only tightened the bolt of certain measures of Law 101, without an overall vision and with little structuring impact.
It would still be necessary to agree on the means of determining progress or setbacks. In his press conference, Mr. Roberge spoke of a dashboard – it is the fashionable remedy – which would take into account the language of consumption of the culture, the language spoken at home and the language spoken at work. .
In the first two cases, it is far from certain that it is a relevant indicator. The language spoken at home by newcomers will most often be the language of origin. You can speak French in the public sphere and still use Spanish or Arabic at the dinner table.
The important thing is that French is the common language and that of the public space. This does not exclude the use of his native language in private life.
Similarly, the culture’s language of consumption is far from being a reliable or even relevant indicator. Even native French speakers consume music in English and they will probably be the majority at Madonna’s show when she comes to Montreal…
Finally, there are the essential missions of the State: health, education and justice. In these three sectors, labor shortages are the main cause of service interruptions, which are increasingly frequent and numerous.
More and more, the CAQ government is trying to say that the solution escapes it. The Prime Minister repeats that the nursing shortage is a worldwide phenomenon, which is certainly correct, but that does not comfort someone who has just had their appointments or treatments postponed.
This is what is likely to create the most problems for the government over the next few years. And since the CAQ is no longer a new government, but a party in power for almost five years, it can no longer blame its predecessors or the international situation. In healthcare, in particular, delayed care and waiting lists can quickly become a major crisis.
In politics, the second term is very rarely easier than the first. And everyone understands that the current mandate will be particularly difficult.