As election looms, MNAs ask: Should I stay or go?
QUEBEC It’s a decision a lot of Quebec politicians are wrestling with these days. Do they stay or do they go?
As the clock ticks down to the Oct. 1 general election, one of the big question marks for any political leader is just who will be representing the party in each of the 125 ridings of Quebec.
Obviously an election means new candidates to give the party a better sheen, but for the existing MNAs, especially the older ones, it’s a kind of watershed moment.
The same goes for politicians who think they might want to be doing something else with their lives and have the option of shifting gears.
Still others might be reading the tea leaves and thinking the party could be headed for the opposition benches where, face it, life is a lot less glamorous.
There is new given in this puzzle too. The rules have changed making it harder and harder to leave halfway through what is normally a four year mandate. That means if you decide to run or run again, you need to be pretty sure you’re ready to do the time.
Today, a National Assembly politician who leaves before the end of their normal mandate gets no financial allowance unless they can prove they have a serious family or health reasons affecting them or someone close to them.
The ultimate decision rests in the hands of the province’s ethics commissioner. The new rules came into force Dec 3, 2015 with the adoption of Bill 78.
It’s a far cry from the old days when the money flowed and voters screamed of scandal. In the first 18 months after the 2014 election, nine MNAs threw in the towel, some pocketing in some cases as much as $150,000 each.
It’s expensive for the taxpayer in other ways. When someone leaves, the government has to call a byelection to replace them. Those run about $550,000 a pop according to numbers provided by Quebec’s chief electoral officer.
Including the last one in October in the riding of Louis-Hébert, there have been 15 byelections since 2014 costing a total of about $8 million.
So how are things shaping up this time? Although much of the media attention has been on the four Parti Québécois MNAs who decided to not seek a new mandate, just as many Liberals have made the same decision.
So far Guy Hardy (Saint-François), Karine Vallières (Richmond), André Drolet (Jean-Lesage) and Pierre Reid (Orford) have all said they won’t run again. In Hardy’s case, he’s retiring. So is Reid, a former education minister in the Charest years. He is 69.
Leaving at the end of a complete term in office is actually the best situation financially for an MNA. In those cases, they get what is called a transitional allowance pegged to their years of public service to make up for earnings they missed out on.
The list of those “in reflection” about their future is long and in no way closed. The only party that seems to be hanging on to all its people is the Coalition Avenir Québec, which some see as the next government.
A good example of someone mulling is Abitibi-Ouest MNA François Gendron, the dean of the Parti Québécois caucus and the legislature. Now 73, he is expected to announce he’s retiring soon. The same goes for Montmorency Liberal MNA Raymond Bernier.
Jacques-Cartier MNA Geoffrey Kelley, who turned 63 last weekend and is minister of native affairs, is reflecting and says he will inform his constituents of his decision when he is ready.
Another one to watch is WestmountSaint-Louis MNA Jacques Chagnon, who is the speaker of the legislature. Chagnon now is 65. One scenario making the rounds is if Chagnon leaves, his riding would be offered to Outremont MNA Hélène David, minister of higher education.
Outremont was merged with Mont-Royal on the new electoral map to be used in this election. Mont-Royal is held by Treasury Board president Pierre Arcand who plans to run for the Liberals in the new merged riding.
The MNA for the Montreal riding of Bourassa-Sauvé, Rita De Santis, a former cabinet minister, is also reflecting.
“I will make a statement in due time,” De Santis said last week.
Two anglophone MNAs, David Birnbaum in the riding of D’Arcy McGee and Kathleen Weil, the minister for democratic institutions and the English-speaking community who represents NotreDame-de- Grâce, have confirmed they want to run again.
“There’s no doubt there’s easier ways to make a living but I am not sure there’s more exciting and rewarding ones,” Birnbaum said in an interview.
Weil’s situation is particular. There have been rumours — spread by radio political pundits — that the party would like to push her out to make use of NDG for someone else.
“Where does that (rumour) come from,” Weil said last week? “I find it really reprehensible how people can speculate publicly about somebody’s intentions.”