François Legault was greeted at the Cabane en bois rond in Hull by CAQ supporters chanting his name, as he introduced Corinne Canuel-Jolicoeur, a public servant and real estate broker, who will be the CAQ candidate for Pontiac and Suzanne Tremblay, president of the Outaouais teacher’s union, who will be the CAQ candidate for Hull.

Legault introduced Canuel-Jolicoeur as a public servant who has worked in the federal government for 20 years.

She currently works as a human resources director at Women and Gender Equality Canada. She also works as a real estate broker with RE/MAX.

Legault said Canuel-Jolicoeur was very involved in the . . .

community, particularly in efforts to prevent domestic violence. Legault also mentioned that Canuel-Jolicoeur is an advocate of social housing, which is needed in the Outaouais.

“I think that Corinne understands the preoccupations and priorities of the people of the Pontiac,” said Legault in French during his remarks.

Legault said that CAQ is not about sovereignty, federalism, left or right, but about taking care of the Quebecois and added that Canuel-Jolicoeur shares that priority.

During her remarks after being introduced, Canuel-Jolicoeur said Legault is a pragmatic man who works for and with people.

Canuel-Jolicoeur has lived in Aylmer for 15 years and has three children. Her spouse is originally from Fort-Coulonge.

Canuel-Jolicoeur said that the Pontiac has a lot to offer, but has often been forgotten about, particularly in regard to socio-economic development, access to services and access to healthcare.

“I chose the CAQ because it is a party of action,” said Canuel-Jolicoeur in French during her remarks.

After the introduction of candidates for Hull and Pontiac, Legault took questions from the media.

During the question period Legault said he hoped to increase social housing in the Outaouais. Legault promised to fund 11,700 new units of social housing over the next four years province wide if the CAQ returns to government.

Concerning the recent dispute over school buses across the province, Legault said that his government had made a fair offer to the Fédération des transporteurs par autobus, the association that represents private transportation companies in Quebec in order to resolve the ongoing contract dispute.

When asked about the current state of the Pontiac Hospital and its lack of an obstetrics unit, Legault blamed the healthcare centralization of the previous liberal government and severe healthcare crisis caused by covid. Legault stated his government is moving towards the decentralization of the health system and improving the situation of all healthcare establishments across the province.

When asked by THE EQUITY what his response was to the feeling among many Quebec anglophones that they are being left behind or even forced out of the province because of legislation like Bill 96, Legault avoided the question by explaining how the bill would affect English CEGEPS.

“It’s very important to say that Bill 96 doesn’t touch services in healthcare that are given in English,’’ said Legault. “Bill 96 touches colleges. What we’re asking for is for people to have some French lessons for people going to anglophone colleges.”

“Right now in Quebec we have nine per cent of the population who are anglophone and we have 17 per cent of places in colleges in the anglophone section, so what we say in Bill 96 is that we will stop at 17 per cent, which is a compromise because the Parti Québécois is asking to reduce that percentage to nine per cent, the Liberal party is ready to go to 25 or 30 per cent of the maximum. What we say is that 17 per cent of places are about double of the nine per cent of anglophones so we think it’s fair and gives opportunities for francophones and immigrants to go to anglophone colleges.

Bill 96 contains a number of provisions that affect the use of English in the workplace, the use of English in municipalities, access to government services in English, hiring practices for English speakers, and the availability of the English in courts, along with its provisions that concern CEGEPs.

THE EQUITY also asked Legault about the status of electoral reform in Quebec, which the CAQ had promised to introduce during the 2018 electoral campaign.

“What we promised in 2018 was to table a reform for a proportional vote, which we did in the first year, then we were suppose to consult, then the pandemic happened and what we realized is that right now, when we look at priorities of Quebecers, other priorities are more urgent then this reform, so that’s why it’s not in our platform any more, “ responded Legault.

Put simply, under a proportional electoral system, the composition of the National Assembly would match the popular vote received by each party on the provincial level.

THE EQUITY has reached out to Canuel-Jolicoeur’s campaign for an interview.

In other election news, it has been announced that Jolaine Paradis-Châteauneuf will represent the Parti Québécois in the Pontiac. Paradis-Châteauneuf was among 21 other candidates announced by the PQ last week. THE EQUITY will make an effort to reach out to Paradis-Châteauneuf for an interview.

The Liberal Party of Quebec has announced that “ Vote for Real. Real issues. Real solutions” will be the slogan the party will be running on during the election. The announcement was made at the party’s convention for its youth wing.

During the unveiling of the slogan, Liberal Party leader Dominique Anglade said that “diversity is a strength, not a weakness” while poking at CAQ policies on religious and anglophone minorities.

The Conservative Party of Quebec released the platform it will be running on Sunday in Drummondville.

The platform is entitled Liberté 22 and calls for the introduction of private and for-profit element in the province’s healthcare system, steep reductions of income taxes, the removal of the tax on gas, allowing for the exploration and exploitation of Quebec’s hydrocarbon resources and offering $200 a week for every family that either can’t or do not wish to use the provinces public daycare system, among other pledges. You can find the full platform in French here: https://www.conservateur.quebec/programme.

THE EQUITY still expects the Canadian Party of Quebec to announce a candidate for the Pontiac. It appears the NDP of Quebec will not run a candidate this election, and it is unclear whether the Marxist–Leninist Party of Quebec, which has consistently run candidates in the Pontiac since at least 1989, will run a representative.

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