Lisée wins his bet

Photo Agence QMI, Toma Iczkovits
Jean-François Lisée is mounted on the stage surrounded by his team to address the delegates of the congress of the Parti québécois, on Saturday night, after winning his vote of confidence.

Patrick Bellerose

Saturday, 9 September, 2017 15:52

UPDATE
Sunday, 10 September, 2017 00:18

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After you have managed to unite the supporters of the hard line on bill 101, Jean-François Lisée has been the aura of a result almost history on Saturday during the vote of confidence by the congress of the Parti québécois.

The leader of the parti québecois won the support of 92.8 % of the approximately 1500 delegates gathered at the Palais des congress, in Montreal.

It is very close to the historic result of 93,08 % that had been obtained by Pauline Marois in 2011, and much more than the 76 % harvested by Lucien Bouchard and Bernard Landry at their respective times.

Last year, Jean-François Lisée had been elected head of the Parti québécois, with only 51% of the votes.

For him, the result is a clear message sent to Quebec. “You told them : the Parti québécois is the kingdom, the Parti québécois is strong, the Parti québécois is trustworthy “, he launched his troops after being mounted on the stage surrounded by his team.

Call to unity

His fellow mps have seen in this result a desire for unity expressed by the activists pq members to one year from the next election.

For the member of parliament for Abitibi-Ouest, François Gendron, the delegates understood that it was the ” moment of solidarity, taking account of where we are according to the polls “.

Even the sound of a bell at the home of his colleague from Lac-Saint-Jean, Alexandre Cloutier, according to which ” more than ever, we must be united in order to offer an alternative to replace the liberal government “.

Compromise on the language

Earlier Saturday, Jean-François Lisée had managed to withdraw from the program of the party the application of bill 101 to cegeps, English-speaking.

The delegates voted in the workshop for a proposal for a “compromise” on access to cegeps, which provides that their funding will be ” gradually aligned on the demographic weight that is proportional to this community.”

The wording of the amendment, which will be voted on in plenary on Sunday, has been interpreted in different ways by the various camps.

For Marc Laviolette, an ardent defender of the French language, the phrase means that the financing of the cégeps anglophones will decrease with time, regardless of the level of attendance. “The text is clear, everyone is able to read French,” he says.

“Administrative action “

For him, it is an indirect means of applying, de facto, the law 101. “Instead of going by a law, you go by a administrative measure “, he says.

Friday, Jean-François Lisée was, however, a very different read of the amendment. According to the head of the parti québecois, the reduction in funding will be attracting more young people to the French-language network.

3 resolutions adopted Saturday

• Less than a month of a referendum on the independence of Catalonia, the Parti québécois adopted a proposal for emergency unanimously to reaffirm ” the right of the people of Catalonia to have him-even his future.”
• The delegates were also given a boost to Jean-François Lisée, who wants to start a ” going green “. Thus, a prime minister of the parti québecois would get also the title of responsible of sustainable development.
• Another amendment provides that a pq government would curtail the pipeline project Energy East, would prohibit the exploitation of shale gas, would protect the Island, in addition to “gradually” end to the exploitation of hydrocarbons.

The delegates vote in favour of a price increase

The delegates adopted an increase in the price of the card member of the PQ, which will rise from $ 5 to $ 10 annually. Members may also renew their dues for three years at a cost of $25.

Before the vote, a member of the executive has argued that the increase in the price of the card member, as well as the possibility to collect the levy for the three years immediately, would be an input of money to the party that needs them.

For his part, the member for Marie-Victorin, Catherine Fournier, had called on the delegates to vote against the proposal.

It is estimated that the increase in the cost of the map could scare away “20 to 25 %” of the members in his district. Some activists “lose a meal” to pay their annual dues, she pleaded.