Parliamentarian of the Year (female)
- 1. Marwah Rizqy
- 2. Geneviève Guilbault
- 3. Sonia LeBel
- (In 4e position: Manon Massé)
“I didn’t feel like I was at my best”
PHOTO PASCAL RATTHE, THE PRESS
Marwah Rizqy
Marwah Rizqy admits, she sometimes sets the bar too high. Elected female parliamentarian of the year, ahead of CAQ elected representatives Geneviève Guilbault and Sonia LeBel, the liberal MP for Saint-Laurent says she is “touched”, because she does not always feel up to the task.
“I was really surprised. I was very touched, especially since it was an adjustment session on a personal level, for me and Greg [Kelley, son conjoint, aussi député de Jacques-Cartier] », says Mme Rizqy.
“I feel like I’m not at my best for personal reasons. That’s a nice touch for me. It reassured me,” she adds.
With a baby, she “carries around a fatigue that continues to accumulate”, and at the same time, she is undergoing in vitro fertilization treatments which are taking her through a “roller coaster”.
At the same time, she must learn “to say no for the first time”. In the evening, after 8 p.m., she is home to see her child. On Sundays, she no longer works. “Normally, I worked seven days a week,” she lets slip. These changes make her experience “a feeling of guilt” because she is “not capable of doing everything”.
Parliamentarian of the Year (male)
- 1. André Fortin
- 2. Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
- 3. Christian Dubé
André Fortin styles Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
PHOTO PASCAL RATTHE, THE PRESS
Andre Fortin
“Did you count more than once?” Are you sure? I didn’t believe it when I was told the news,” says André Fortin, taken aback, on the line.
The efficient Liberal MP is neither a party leader, like Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, nor a minister with a “hot file”, like Christian Dubé, who finished second and third in this category. But he is “tenacious”.
“It’s not just the show, it’s not just the number of times we’re in the media. It’s being able to represent the people from our area. […] At times that means attacking government policies, but not doing it in such a way that I can no longer speak with a minister at the end of the day. If my colleagues saw that about me, maybe I did it well this year,” he lets slip.
He has good words for Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who gave him a tough fight. “He managed to take a side on which all observers of the political scene and columnists had little hope and put it back on track in a spectacular way. […] It’s absolutely remarkable,” he says.
The most tenacious criticism of the opposition
- 1. Marwah Rizqy
- 2. Marc Tanguay
- 3. André Fortin
- (In 4e position: Monsef Derraji. In 5e position: Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois)
Liberals stand out
For the third year in a row, the pugnacious Marwah Rizqy is the most tenacious of the opposition elected officials, according to our survey.
And in this list, it is liberals who stand out: interim leader Marc Tanguay is second, André Fortin is third, and Monsef Derraji, fourth. They all gave up the race for party leadership.
For meme Rizqy, there is no secret to being a good opposition MP: you have to work, know your files, meet as many civil society stakeholders as possible, and try to have as many contacts as possible. everywhere, including in “the machine”, then complete it all with requests for access to information. And she doesn’t neglect social networks. She responds personally to messages sent to her. “All my work in Parliament is based on testimonies from people who talk to me about their situation,” she says.
The king or queen of the music video
- 1. Marwah Rizqy and Geneviève Guilbault
- 3. Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois
- (In 4e position: Pascal Bérubé. In 5e tied position: Pierre Fitzgibbon, Vincent Marissal and Marc Tanguay)
A well-mastered art
PHOTO PASCAL RATTHE, THE PRESS
Geneviève Guilbault
To complete his crown, Mme Rizqy is elected the queen of the music video, tied with the CAQ MP and Minister of Transport, Geneviève Guilbault.
They are closely followed by the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, and the PQ Pascal Bérubé.
But what exactly is music video art? It’s a “short, clear, pictorial and punchy” sentence, let go of Mme Rizqy, who writes them herself.
“I hate lines. It insults me. My God. Oh no. I am able to read and think for myself,” she says. Her favorite clip this year: “Eric Caire, I think his situation is precarious,” she says, laughing.
And being able to communicate clearly keeps opponents on their toes. The parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, confides that his team carefully prepares the questions that Etienne Grandmont asks the Minister of Transport. Geneviève Guilbault.
Because the latter has an easy reply. “A good music video is, first and foremost, something that will speak to people. They hear a lot of politicians, a lot of things in a day. The important thing is that we get straight to the point, that we are clear, that we appear to be in control of our files and that they know where we are going,” says M.me Guilbault.
Methodology
The Press sent MEPs an electronic questionnaire. There were ten categories.
More than two thirds of elected officials responded anonymously to the survey this fall (86 out of 125).
In each category, the deputies voted twice: first for an elected official from their party, then for an elected official from another political group. This way of proceeding helps mitigate the effects of partisanship. To stand out from the crowd, an elected official must almost inevitably obtain the support of colleagues from other parties.
This year, MPs could not choose the Prime Minister in the Parliamentarian of the Year category. This decision was taken because he is in the spotlight almost every day, and this category aims to highlight the work of the 124 other elected officials of the National Assembly.
The winners were established by adding all the votes obtained in each category. The list of elected officials The Press is inspired by a similar approach made by the magazine Maclean’s at the Ottawa Parliament.