The Legault government was re-elected four months ago, but the real start of its second term was on Tuesday with the resumption of work in the National Assembly after a very brief session in December.
Posted yesterday at 5:00am
Of course, the government has been busy all these weeks, but from now on it will no longer have full control of the embassy and will have to answer for its actions to the opposition parties and the parliamentary press on an almost daily basis.
Three main issues occupied the government and the National Assembly: Hydro-Québec, French and the impact of labor shortages on the state’s mission.
The energy debate began with the appointment of Pierre Fitzgibbon as Minister in charge of the Act, followed shortly thereafter – cause and effect relationship or not – by the resignation of the President of Hydro-Québec.
We have seen the government change its rhetoric on the subject in recent days. Prime Minister François Legault practically ordered the construction of new dams during the election campaign. It has turned green in the last few days.
Dams are still being built, but it will serve to decarbonize Quebec. However, 50% more electrical capacity is still required. So no more roadblocks.
On Tuesday at the National Assembly, the prime minister expressed his satisfaction that there are too many companies looking to invest in Quebec and that “we will have the choice of the best projects”.
The problem is that in the kilowatt race, the government will end up picking winners and losers. Which doesn’t reassure everyone, especially given the scrupulous respect the Secretary of Energy had for the Ethics Officer’s opinions.
We need a mechanism with absolutely exemplary transparency in order to avoid arbitrariness and favoritism in the selection of projects to keep.
The second issue that will occupy the government is the question of French, with the formation of a ministerial committee that will look for ways “to stop trying to exist”, like French language minister Jean-Francois Roberge , said .
This is amazing because just a few months ago the government was arguing that Bill 96, passed just before the elections, should do just that. Today that law is written like chalk on a blackboard. We wipe and we start over …
This is evidence that Law 96 was essentially a public relations stunt designed to show – ahead of the elections – that the government cared about the fate of the French. A law that only tightened certain measures of Law 101, with no overall vision and little structuring effect.
It would still be necessary to agree on the means of determining progress or setbacks. In his press conference, Mr. Roberge spoke of a dashboard – it’s the fashion remedy – that would take into account the culture’s consumer language, the language spoken at home and the language spoken in the workplace.
In the first two cases, it is far from certain that it is a relevant indicator. The language spoken by newcomers at home is mostly the language of origin. You can speak French in public and still use Spanish or Arabic at the dinner table.
Importantly, French is the common language and that of the public space. This does not exclude the use of his mother tongue in private life.
Likewise, the culture’s consumer language is far from being a reliable or even relevant indicator. Even native French speakers consume music in English and they will probably be the majority on Madonna’s show when she comes to Montreal…
Finally, there are the main tasks of the state: health, education and the judiciary. In these three sectors, labor shortages are the main cause of increasingly frequent and frequent business interruptions.
Increasingly, the CAQ government is trying to say that it is missing the solution. The Prime Minister reiterates that the nursing shortage is a global phenomenon, which is certainly true, but that is no consolation for anyone who has just postponed their appointments or treatments.
This is likely to cause the government the most problems over the next few years. And since the CAQ is no longer a new government but has been in power for almost five years, it cannot blame either its predecessors or the international situation. Delayed care and waiting lists can quickly become a major crisis, especially in the healthcare sector.
In politics, the second term is very rarely easier than the first. And everyone understands that the current mandate will be especially difficult.