Yes, Marois’s PQ is positioned to win a mandate – how large is the ultimate question – and not only does she want a majority government, she wants more powers from Ottawa before she decides that Quebec should go down the hard road solo.
A few hundred meters away from Parliament Hill itself, yesterday, in Gatineau, Quebec, Marois made the bold announcement that “In the days that follow, in the weeks that follow, it will be a short delay, I will contact Mr. Harper.”
Marois’s first priority in her talks with Harper is the transfer of power of employment insurance, language and communications down to Quebec. She also wants control over more areas from copyright law to international aid funds and of course, while she claims that she will “employ an attitude of respect,” these demands will come at hostage point… Take the offer or Quebec separates.
Marois also wants to discuss Harper’s foreign policy which she says has alienated Quebec and does not fit the Quebecers’ identity.
“Resting, at one time, on multiculturalism, balance and cooperation, Canadian foreign policy has become, I would say, bellicose, militant, marked by a unilateralism that is more and more flagrant,” she said.
While she criticized Harper, she took interest in his main opponent NDP and Official Opposition leader Thomas Mulcair.
“I’d really like to know what position Mr. Muclair will have on my approach as Parti Quebecois leader,” Marois said.
“I’ll certainly have very good relations with Mr. Mulcair whom I know quite well.”
Both the Conservatives and NDP have decided to stay out of the Quebec election campaign and would not comment or leave any indication on how they’d react to a PQ mandate. Let’s not forget that it was Harper who told us in May 2011 that only the Conservatives could prevent the separatists from coming back – it looks like they’re coming back with a vengeance.
But in a recent CROP poll conduced on August 27-29 with 1,002 Quebecers as participants, sovereignty remains the least favorable option in Quebec. Only 28% of Quebecers believe in the country of Quebec while 62% believe in the Canadian confederation. The poll’s accuracy falls into a range of within 3.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20 and found that the undecided boat grew to 10%.
The poll also indicates that despite support for sovereignty being low, Marois would easily clear the 15% of Quebecers who would need to ask for a referendum to be called. The poll found that 29% of respondents would want to vote in an election within the first PQ mandate, even though only 8% were favorable of the idea.
However, considering the low appetite for the reason why the PQ still exists, the CROP poll showed that support for the PQ was strong among francophone voters outside of Montreal. Analysts pit the francophone vote as being the deciding factor of the election – and nothing is more appealing to them then attacking minorities to enforce their culture!
A PQ majority is not only a battle cry for a sovereign Quebec, it is a battle cry from Marois to grab full reigns of Quebec. With a majority, nothing would stop a referendum or the cultural backlash and with a whipped vote at her disposal, a PQ majority with new powers from Ottawa (or else) would have even more control over Quebecers’ lives.
It’s nice to know that Marois wants to fight Harper but one must wonder whether she is fighting out of principle or if it’s the flavor of the day to make her appealing enough to win a majority so that she can have the same kind of power streak as Harper does in Ottawa and the well beloved Premier Jean Charest did, who has since slipped to third in the polls. None the less, isn’t fighting Harper Mulcair’s job anyway? Why do we need a Quebec Premier to do what the NDP can do effectively in Ottawa?
Marois is asking for a majority but in this period of time, a minority government is in all our best interests. It keeps governments in check and it prevents the tyranny we’ve seen over the last 9 years. At least it is our warranty, our guarantee that if she isn’t the Premier we are so desperately looking for to bring change, that at least we are not trapped with her and her agenda for the next four years with nothing to say. What do you think of Marois’s bold moves? Let us know: Facebook, Twitter, Google +.
Related: Former Education Minister Pauline Marois Tried to Increase Tuition
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