It’s Liberals’ turn to plan strategy
Premier meeting with Liberal caucus to develop strategy ahead of 2018 vote
It was an image Premier Philippe Couillard wanted everyone to see: him sitting at the controls of one of those giant Eltec tree harvesters in the heart of the Abitibi woodlands.
In this region, machinery — soon to be built with the help of robotics, Couillard said later — has long replaced people when it comes to the heavy-lifting in the forestry industry. In other words, the industry has reinvented itself.
And that is exactly the kind of message Couillard is hoping Quebecers grasp about his government as it struggles to put its troubles behind and slowly, but surely, put in place the pieces for a 2018 election campaign. The question is: How? After the late summer caucus meetings of the two main opposition parties, the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Parti Québécois, it’s the Liberals’ turn this week to strategize. The caucus meets here Thursday and Friday to prepare for the resumption of work at the National Assembly next Tuesday.
A new chief of staff (Jean-Pascal Bernier replaced veteran Jean-Louis Dufresne Tuesday) is only one piece of the new vision, Couillard said as he arrived for a pre-caucus cabinet meeting. He was faced with a barrage of questions about his unexpected staff shakeup.
Most think he was acting to keep the peace among the nervous nellies in the Liberal caucus who feel the CAQ nipping at their heels.
Many say Dufresne, a childhood friend of Couillard, is to blame for the ill-fated decision to run Éric Tétrault in the Louis-Hébert riding despite knowing he had been accused of psychological harassment in the past.
Tétrault was forced to withdraw when La Presse revealed the story.
Couillard Wednesday tried to put the whole business of Dufresne’s departure and the subsequent shakeup in a good light; i.e. this is part of the plan.
“It shows we are in a new phase,” Couillard said. “We have had a first phase of putting the house in order, the renovation. We have to go further, in the transformation of Quebec. The world is changing at a staggering pace. We also have to change, we have to be ahead of change.”
There’s a tinge of frustration in his remarks, an indication he feels his government should be getting more mileage out of Quebec’s low unemployment rate and growing economy.
“We can say goodbye to the era of unemployment in Quebec,” he said standing on the floor of the Technologie Élement PSW plant here as workers leaned in to hear.
“We can say goodbye to the era of recurring deficits and growing debt. We say welcome to prosperity in Quebec.
“Everybody else in Canada sees it very well. I’m sure Quebecers have noticed because the best jobs are here, salaries are growing faster.”
He did not mention the Statistics Canada data released Wednesday showing Quebec placed second-to-last in Canada for median income. At $59,822 a year, it is only ahead of New Brunswick ($59,347 a year). The theme is a favourite hobby horse of CAQ Leader François Legault. The Liberals note that those numbers date back to 2015.
What else is in his plans? Couillard is fuzzy. The caucus has two days to talk. Couillard has not ruled out a cabinet shuffle, but won’t say when.
“I am always looking for ways to improve my team,” he said vaguely. “It’s time to breathe in new life, but we’ll see in a few weeks or a few months.”
Couillard insists the key is to explain things better, show Quebecers how the last few years of Liberal government has benefited them.
“We have to speak to the people, we have to listen to the real needs of citizens,” he said.
He argues his party is up for the challenge even though he also concedes that Quebecers’ desire for change is strong.
“Why is the Liberal Party still around 150 years later? We’ve always been able to reinvent ourselves and lead Quebec into a new phase of its development. We are helping Quebec to transform itself, by leading the transformation.
“It’s an example of what (former leader) Robert Bourassa used to say when he said the Liberal Party has always been (a party) of its time and it’s true again today.”