Paradis-Châteauneuf is a social worker with the CISSSO in Gatineau. She works in providing services to youth and is involved in her union, the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux, both of which influenced her decision to get invloved in politics.

Paradis-Châteauneuf said one of the reasons motivating her to go into politics was the need for a spokesperson for health care and social workers in the area.

“The fight to defend the rights of the population that is more vulnerable is important for me,” said Paradis-Châteauneuf.

On health care, Paradis-Châteauneuf said that both the conditions of health care workers and quality of services offered to the population needs to be improved.

She said her biggest priority would be to . . .

reopen the obstetric unit at the Pontiac Community Hospital in Shawville.

“We can not tolerate that pregnant women have to travel hundreds of miles to go to a hospital to give birth,” said Paradis-Châteauneuf. “It’s already a stressful experience, and [travel] can also be risky.”

She also emphasized that the PQ wants to invest money into homecare and expanding both the number and quality of the CLSCs. She also spoke of the importance of lowering the ratio of patient to caregiver which would improve both the quality of care given to patients and the working conditions for profressionals.

Paradis-Châteauneuf said the sytem was underfunded and criticized the CAQ for failing to secure $6 billion in funding for, in part, healthcare from the federal government.

She said that she has seen first hand very long wait times for mental health service, surgery and care for elderly patients.

“[Waiting lists] can be like a year or two but in theory we have to take it in 30 days,’’ said Paradis-Châteauneuf. “So I see that there is a population in distress.”

On Bill 96, which the PQ voted against in the National Assembly, Paradis-Châteauneuf said that the legislation does not go far enough to prevent the decline of the French language in Quebec.

“We don’t want to be in conflict, we want to just protect the French language ,” said Paradis-Châteauneuf.

She said the main linguistic policy she would advocate for is to apply Bill 101 to CEGEPs, which reports suggest would block francophone and allophone students from attending English CEPGEPs.

She also defended the PQs stance on Quebec sovereignty.

“We have to get back the power of the federal government,” said Paradis-Châteauneuf. “It’s a really important reminder that [the federal government] keeps the money of all Quebecers. For healthcare, for immigration, for the environment, we need to get back powers to be able to develop as a free nation and we have the competence to do that.”

On housing, she said the PQ is proposing to build 5000 housing units a year for the next five years in order to address the housing crisis. She said the PQ was committed to ending renovictions and banning Clause F, which is a legal provision in Quebec that allows landlords to raise rents dramatically in newly built or refurbished housing.

On the environment, she said the PQ will focus on investing heavily on the expansion of public transport and the electrification of vehicles.

On the cost of living crisis, Paradis-Châteauneuf said the PQ is focused on getting money directly to Quebecers to offset their increasing expenditure.

“We have announced that we will raise the minimum salary to $18 an hour,’’ said Paradis-Châteauneuf. “We will also give a tax credit that can go up to $1,000 based on the salary of the person. So we will help families to increase their buying power.”

Finally, THE EQUITY asked Paradis-Châteauneuf how she would distinguish the PQ from Québec solidaire (QS), given that both parties are sovereigntist and outwardly oriented towards social justice and equality.

Paradis-Châteauneuf said the QS was irresponsible to propose lowering taxes given the fragility of Quebec’s finances. She also said the two parties had different visions in relation to immigration, with the PQ wanting less immigrants and a greater focus on integration.

With Paradis-Châteauneuf, THE EQUITY has interviewed every candidate for the riding of Pontiac.

Our remaining coverage will focus on looking at the policy differences between the candidates.

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