GATINEAU – In the event of a by-election, men will be temporarily excluded from the Quebec Solidaire nomination process to leave space “only for women or non-binary people.”
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“We will not destroy the patriarchy with proposals,” said Maïka Sondarjee, a solidarity activist from Hull, who, with all party delegates gathered at a congress, adopted a majority proposal that would settle the men’s issue until the next congress in the autumn of 2024.
Until then, only women and non-binary people have the right to present themselves under the banner of solidarity.
This unusual mechanism aims to “increase diversity and achieve parity within the Solidarity Group”.
Twice as many men
The latter currently consists of 8 men and 4 women, i.e. twice as many male as female elected representatives.
Simon Piotte, solidarity delegate from Maskinongé, took to the men’s microphone to support the adoption of this proposal, saying that it was “a shame not to achieve parity” for a feminist party like QS. “Sometimes we men have to calm down, we have to give in,” he explained.
“We want to find this parity as quickly as possible. It’s important to us. We are a feminist party. “We absolutely want the fullest possible representation of the entire population,” said solidarity delegate Etienne Grandmont at the beginning of the day.
Bagreau Solidarity MP Etienne Grandmont during a press scrum on the sidelines of his party’s convention in Gatineau, November 25, 2023. PHOTO Marc-André Gagnon
“Nothing discriminatory,” says Grandmont
“There is nothing discriminatory about it,” defended the elected official from Taschenreau in response to questions from journalists.
According to him, the proposal discussed at the congress is “fully” in line with the measures taken to achieve equal parity on the boards of large state-owned companies.
In a recent by-election in Jean-Talon, the Quebec Solidaire establishment tried to persuade its members to favor a female candidate. However, Olivier Bolduc, who had already bitten the dust twice in this race, won the nomination before losing a third time on election day.
To all the people who are tearing up their best shirts about this, I ask: Is it because you believe that there are not enough competent women to become MPs? https://t.co/ZkQsoEOXh4
— Stéphanie Guévremont (@Sguevremont) November 25, 2023
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