The decision of some Solidarity MPs to pocket part of the salary increase they opposed this spring caused misunderstandings in the ranks of the left-wing formation on the eve of their National Council. Without condemning her ex-colleagues, former elect Émilise Lessard-Therrien makes it clear: she would not have kept a penny.
“I was not involved in the caucus discussions, I do not know what the journey to such a position was, but I can say that if I had benefited from this increase, it would have enabled me to invest no less than 30,000 US dollars to help organizations that need money,” said the former Rouyn-Noranda-Témiscamingue MP, who is running for the post of co-spokesman for the formation.
Earlier this month, elected members of the National Assembly passed Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette’s Bill 24 by a majority. This will increase the annual base salary of Quebec MPs by 30%. Québec Solidaire firmly opposed this, accusing the Coalition avenir Québec government of being “judge and party” on the matter.
However, a few days before the passage of the CAQ law, the solidarity co-speakers had stated that their elected officials were free to accept part of these amounts or not, indicated Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. “There will be no party line on personal finance in Quebec Solidaire,” he said.
Since then, Solidarity MP Vincent Marissal has said he will partially benefit from the increase. His colleague Haroun Bouazzi said he had to discuss it with his wife.
“On this file, I think Québec Solidaire has done a very good job. Until then,” lamented activist François Saillant, former Solidarity candidate in Rosemont, in an interview with Le Devoir a few hours before the start of the National Solidarity Council in Saint-Hyacinthe.
“Personally, I would have preferred the parliamentary wing to have taken a more decisive position. There, what was a very, very, very good move from the last session of Parliament turned into something rather weak,” he continued.
not everyone agrees
In the latest news, seven out of 12 elected officials from the Solidarity Group said they would donate all of their raises to charity. Among them are Mr Nadeau-Dubois, co-speaker Manon Massé and two candidates to succeed him, Ruba Gazhal and Christine Labrie.
In an interview with Le Devoir, Émilise Lessard-Therrien did not want to cast a stone over the elected officials who will receive part of the increase. “It will be up to them to justify their position. However, she made a point of making it clear that she was “alive.”[t] Very good with the salary [qu’elle avait] If [elle était] deputy”.
For Mr Saillant, the decision to give MPs a free choice on this issue is “a source of incomprehension”, particularly given the party’s firm position since the bill was presented.
The ex-Solidarity candidate would have preferred all the formation’s elected officials to follow the same path. As an example, he cites the position of the Parti Québécois MPs, all three of whom would accept an increase equivalent to that granted to public sector workers when renegotiating collective agreements. ” [Le PQ] “I took a position that is absolutely justifiable,” said Saillant.
Last National Council before Congress
At the end of the week, solidarity activists will meet again in the National Council. They will take the opportunity to discuss the party’s charter and acknowledge Manon Massé’s mandate as co-speaker. She will leave her post in November after more than six years in the position.
At the end of the week, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois will also detail the tour of the regions that the 12 Solidarity MPs are planning to reconnect with voters outside urban centres. “This is an important step for Québec Solidaire in preparing for the next elections,” he said in an interview.
The MNA for Gouin reckons his party will change “after this tour,” which will last from the end of summer to the end of autumn and maybe even this winter. The training aims to discuss the economy and the environment with people from the regions. “Let’s look at the spring we’ve just had with floods and historic wildfires in quick succession. It is not the people of Rosemont who are the hardest hit by these extreme climate phenomena,” stressed Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.
The elected official expects to be apostrophized for some of the promises made by QS last summer, such as taxes on the purchase of polluting vehicles, which were disguised as “orange taxes” by the Coalition avenir Québec. “But we, the election results, we did it,” he said. We have acknowledged the mistakes we made last time. And here we are in listening mode, in counseling mode, to come back stronger. »
The Quebec Solidaire National Council begins Friday night and ends Sunday in Saint-Hyacinthe.