Chris Lowrey
PONTIAC Dec. 22, 2017
It was a big year for Pontiac MNA André Fortin, who took on one of the province’s biggest ministerial portfolios when he was appointed Quebec’s minister of transport in October.
“You have a chance, in transport, to have a real impact on people’s lives, on their daily lives,” Fortin said after his appointment.
Fortin said his main goal at the helm of his new ministry is to reduce traffic through improved public transit.
He said that while public transit is usually seen through the lens of urban residents, it has an impact on rural commuters as well. He pointed to the high number of people who commute in the Pontiac and said that the less cars there are on the road, the less time rural residents will have to spend commuting to their jobs in the city.
“My sole objective is [for people to spend] less time in their cars so they can spend more time with their families,” he said.
When asked about his proudest contribution legislatively, Fortin pointed to the newly-created Ministry of Anglophone Affairs.
Fortin said the creation of the ministry “sends a really strong signal” that the Liberal government is focused on improving the lives of Anglophones in the province.
The Quebec government recently ran into some controversy when it, along with every other member of the National Assembly, voted to encourage shop owners in Quebec to use the francophone greeting “bonjour” instead of the commonly-used “bonjour-hi.”
The Liberals opposed the motion at first because it described the English greeting as an “irritant.” Once the language was altered, the motion passed unanimously.
Fortin echoed the sentiments of Premier Phillippe Couillard who called the debate “ridiculous.”
“I think his point that we have bigger issues to deal with was the right one,” Fortin said. “Quebecers are quite capable of addressing how they speak to each other.”
Fortin also pointed to the fact that Couillard was the first politician in the province’s history to answer a question in English during question period when it was asked in French. He said this is a sign the premier wants to mend bridges with Anglophones.
Locally, Fortin said his proudest moment as an MNA was seeing the community rally together during the spring flooding that affected huge swaths of the region.
“I’m really proud that the premier himself came here,” Fortin said. It was the first time in a long time a Quebec premier has been to the region.
Fortin said the sight of the massive dyke the town built along ferry road stuck with the premier so much he used it as an example of community spirit at a later speech.
“To hear the premier use the example of Quyon was one of my proudest moments.”
When it comes to priorities in the Pontiac, Fortin said his focus will remain on two major portfolios: economic development and healthcare.
Fortin said the fruits of the labour of the economic SWAT team will hopefully become reality this year.
On the healthcare front, Fortin took a decidedly more neutral tone with the recent report by Santé Outaouais 2020 on the Pontiac’s healthcare system than Qubec Health Minister Gaetan Barrette.
“In any reform you’ll see things that work well from the start and things that don’t,” he said.
He agreed with the report’s authors that the referral process for social workers needs improvement.
“The referral system shouldn’t hinder the ability of a patient to get a social worker.”
He also said he would push to include a Pontiac resident on the CISSSO board of directors.
But he also pointed to the fact that the Pontiac has a higher percentage of residents with a family doctor than the rest of the province as a success, as well as the funding announcement for the dialysis machine at the Shawville hospital.
Fortin said he hopes the dialysis unit will be up and running by the summer.
He also said the elimination of administrative positions means more money can be invested with care staff.
