The victims of the eclipse | The Press

In politics, there are eclipses every month.

Judging by the emails received, you are a little, a lot disgusted to hear about Northvolt. In February, there was a near-scandal of political financing. And in April, it will undoubtedly be something else.

To stay with the celestial metaphor, certain subjects act like black holes. They eat up almost all the media space. The attraction effect is irresistible. The more people debate it, the more people there are to argue with and positions to comment on. As a caricature says New Yorker : “Sorry, honey, I can’t go to bed right now, someone is wrong on the internet! »

During eclipses, two other epiphenomena are not very brilliant: those who talk about it while deploring that we talk about it so much, and those who accuse the opposition of not being interested in the real issues while they themselves do not Don’t listen to elected officials when they are talking about something else.

Let me whip out the whip briefly before falling into constructive mode. This criticism is not false. Or, to put it less proudly, it could perhaps, a little, apply to me too…

For this column, I asked the parties in the National Assembly to choose two proposals or issues that go under the radar. So here they are.

Liberal Party of Quebec

Solar panels on roofs

In 2021, Hydro-Québec created a first “microgrid” in Lac-Mégantic, by installing 2,000 solar panels. Liberal MP Gregory Kelley wants to increase these initiatives on residential, commercial and institutional roofs. Even though the cost of panels has fallen in recent years, it will still take many years to recoup them. Mr. Kelley suggests using the Green Fund to subsidize the purchase.

For the owner, the electricity bill would drop and the building would become self-sufficient in the event of a breakdown. For Hydro-Québec, the pressure on the network would decrease and, consequently, the number of sites to be built while there is a shortage of labor. Another advantage: this addition of electricity would not require the construction of costly and intrusive transmission lines.

Supplementary income for social assistance

At the end of its mandate, the Couillard government created the equivalent of a guaranteed minimum income for people on social assistance suffering from severe constraints on employment, such as a physical or intellectual disability. Their benefits were thus increased by 40%. However, to be eligible, you had to have spent five years with such constraints. During this wait, they have very little money. And as soon as they earn more than $200 per month with additional income, their benefits are cut. Désirée McGraw, Liberal MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, wants to correct this error. She tabled a bill to allow these people, if they wish, to earn up to $15,000 per year without being penalized.

Solidarity Quebec

Aging of the population

The aging of the population periodically comes up in public debate. But compared to the seriousness of the issue, Québec solidaire (QS) finds that we do not talk about it enough. The left party is of course proposing to invest more in home care. But the reflection must go further, he insists. We must also think about financial security, housing, mobility, the development of public spaces and digital access for seniors. Its deputy Christine Labrie proposes States General on the quality of life of seniors. It draws inspiration in particular from similar exercises organized for end-of-life care as well as for sexual assault and domestic violence.

Food insecurity in children

There is a category of individuals who suffer from the rising cost of living, but who do not vote, and about whom we talk less: children. Nearly one in five children have experienced some form of food insecurity. No less than a third of people who use food banks are minors. This is not normal, especially not for a rich society like Quebec. The QS proposal: a universal school feeding program for public primary and secondary schools. The estimated cost: between 600 million and 1.5 billion, depending on the contribution required from parents. Canada is the only G7 member not to offer such a program.

Quebec Party

Promoting local culture

The proof is in evidence: Quebec works are less visible on foreign platforms, and we are still waiting to see if the federal reform will correct the problem. The issue is vital, warns the Parti Québécois (PQ). What remains of our identity if we do not have access to our culture and if our artists no longer have the means to create? The PQ is fighting to protect French, but this language must also be able to continue to carry a culture, hence this initiative. PQ leader Pascal Bérubé proposed in 2021 to create an Office for the Promotion of Quebec Content which would work with major platforms to ensure that local works are accessible and visible.

Access to property

Last fall, the PQ submitted a plan for access to the property. We especially talked about – to criticize it – the guaranteed interest rate of 3.5% for first buyers. But the plan included several suggestions to stimulate housing construction.

To adapt the offer: convert vacant government buildings into housing, encourage businesses to do the same and modify the zoning accordingly.

To increase supply: create a fund to encourage real estate construction, provide a catalog of pre-approved plans, provide financial incentives for factory-prefabricated housing, improve QST rebates for first-time buyers and revise programs whose bureaucracy delays construction starts.

And finally, reduce immigration to alleviate demand.

Quebec Future Coalition

Internet in the region

Good news, no news. Or at least: no news that provokes a reaction. We certainly talked a little about the feat of the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) to establish the high-speed internet network (50 Mb/s) in all regions, but this was quickly forgotten. However, it is a real achievement. The file was led by the MP for Orford, Gilles Bélanger. Quebec succeeded before Ontario. And, surprise, he stayed within his budget. All while succeeding in obtaining federal aid. The promise made in 2018 has therefore been fulfilled. A small number of Quebecers are orphans – because of their geographical distance, it was too expensive to connect them to the wired network. But a solution was found: providing access to the Internet via a satellite network.

New generation of schools

Since coming to power, the CAQ has accelerated the construction of schools. The pace is three times faster than under the previous government. And she added an architectural signature. It’s not just a coat of nationalist blue. It incorporates local materials, such as wood and aluminum, expands living spaces, promotes natural light and integrates a geothermal and water recovery system, like the one inaugurated last November in L’Ange- Guardian. We denounce the obsolescence of existing schools, with good reason. But we came a long way, and the delay cannot be resolved in a few years. Since coming to power, the CAQ has more than doubled the budget allocated to the construction and renovation of schools.