Officials standing by revised electoral map

Commission’s work is final: Couillard

Premier Philippe Couillard has been accused of meddling in the operations of the independent body that creates Quebec’s electoral map after telling citizens fighting the new borders it’s OK for them to take legal action.

But Couillard fired back that he hopes MNAs in the Coalition Avenir Québec — who did the accusing — don’t think anyone’s rights to go before the courts should be limited because he said that would be a dark day for democracy.

And he maintained his view that sometime in the future Quebec society will need to have a hard look at the rules currently being used to adjust the map.

“Changing what has been announced by the commission is out of the question,” Couillard said in a heated exchange with CAQ MNA Simon Jolin-Barrette in the legislature. “That will be up for discussion in the next electoral map revision. But it’s normal that a society ask such questions.”

It was Couillard’s comments Friday to the Côte Saint-Luc Men’s Club that caught the CAQ’s eye.

In his speech, Couillard acknowledged the anger the new map — which eliminates the riding of Mont Royal as part of a merger with Outremont — has created with minorities. Citizens are raising funds to challenge the map in court.

“I know legal recourse has been tabled by the community here on this and people should exercise their rights,” Couillard said in comments quoted in The Suburban. “That’s something that should be done.”

But Jolin-Barrette asked Couillard why he is encouraging citizens to use the courts “to attack,” the work done by Quebec’s electoral commission, which is supposed to be final.

He said it’s clear the Liberals are once again exposing their real intentions, which are to protect their own political interests at the expense of an independent agency.

But later, the Liberals voted in favour of a CAQ-sponsored motion re-affirming the autonomy of Quebec’s chief electoral officer and the Commission de la représentation électorale du Québec and to respect the final decision the commission has made on the map.

The motion commits the government to not make any changes to Quebec’s electoral law with the goal of changing the final decision of the commission.

Later, the minister responsible for electoral reform, Rita de Santis, told reporters the Liberals respect the autonomy of the commissions and accepts the map as it is, but said Quebec is due for a discussion on how the laws can change.

Changing (the map) will be up for discussion in the next electoral map revision.

PHILIPPE COUILLARD