The silence of elected officials | La Presse

No one expects a prime minister or mayor to wade into the water to rip drywall out of citizens’ flooded basements.

But after the historic rain that drowned the metropolis and several other regions of Quebec, we would have expected a minimum of presence on the ground from our elected officials, since last Friday.

Unfortunately, François Legault and Valérie Plante were conspicuous by their absence, which increased the frustration of the victims, judging by the emails from readers of The Press.

Philippe has about $20,000 in damages. “But it’s the radio silence from politicians that saddens me,” says the Repentigny resident whose flooded neighbours fear for their future.

“With what happened with Debbyhow come we haven’t had any statements from François Legault? », wonders Étienne, while Danielle also wonders “about the quasi-invisibility of our governments”. After having no electricity for 42 hours, the lady had to throw away a lot of food, for the second time this year.

Let’s be clear, we are not asking our elected officials to come out of their vacation at the slightest storm. Like everyone else, they need rest. But when it comes to extraordinary circumstances, like right now, we expect them to be on duty.

In 1987, Montreal Mayor Jean Doré refused to return from abroad after torrential rains devastated the city. This decision has always stuck with him.

This time, our elected officials were not on the other side of the world.

Prime Minister François Legault attended the final of the National Bank Open tennis tournament, while Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante took part in the Pride parade, holding the city’s rainbow flag.

We are delighted to see them participating in these flagship events that make Montreal vibrate. But their presence at these festivities nevertheless gave the impression that they were insensitive to the misfortunes experienced by citizens at the same time.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, François Legault had a knack for reassuring Quebecers, adopting the tone of a good father during his many press briefings. This had contributed to making him the most popular premier of all the provinces. Since his re-election, he seems to have lost his magic touch and his connection with the general public.

Better late than never: the Prime Minister is scheduled to visit flood sites in Mauricie this Thursday. For his part, the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, was in Lanaudière on Wednesday.

Cynics will say that politicians who find themselves in rain boots in front of the cameras during an emergency are seeking misplaced visibility, that they are only seeking to improve their political image at the expense of the disaster victims.

Others will add that politicians on the scene of a natural disaster are useless… when they are not right in the way. It is true that other experts are better placed than them to intervene. “I am not a firefighter,” Mayor Plante justified herself, who cannot be accused of micromanagement with such a repartee.

The fact remains that by meeting with disaster victims, politicians have the opportunity to demonstrate genuine empathy. By taking the proper measure of the seriousness of the situation, they are then better placed to exercise healthy leadership, to move what is blocking things, and to communicate essential information to the population.

This is the kind of leadership we saw from former Premier Lucien Bouchard during the ice storm in 1998, when he gave daily press briefings alongside the boss of Hydro-Québec in a turtleneck. An image that left its mark.

We have also seen this leadership among several ministers of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ).

In 2023, Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault cut short her mission to Europe to manage the crisis at the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ). The failures in implementing the new SAAQclic computer system had caused endless lineups at service points. Without fixing everything overnight, the minister’s return to Quebec had at least sent a strong signal that the government was taking things seriously.

Last July, Minister Christian Dubé also travelled to the Côte-Nord to get the facts on the staff shortage and the failures in the deployment of the new flying team.

There is nothing like going to the cow field to really understand what is going on. A politician is never too close to his world, especially in difficult times.