Québec solidaire’s Marissal looks to unseat Lisée

Vincent Marissal left his house to buy a loaf of bread a few days back and told his kids he’d be back in 15 minutes. The trip took an hour.

“Eight people stopped me between the little grocer on the corner and our house,” said Marissal, Québec solidaire’s candidate in Rosemont. “Some people have called me brave, some people have said I’m crazy, but now they ’re saying I can win.”

Marissal — a longtime La Presse columnist — is running against Parti Québécois Leader Jean-François Lisée in the provincial election. After a rough start, Marissal says he’s getting the hang of things.

When the columnist first announced his candidacy last spring, Marissal hid the fact he’d flirted with becoming a candidate or adviser for Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party. Marissal’s first instinct was to lie. He later apologized.

“I can’t rewrite history,” Marissal said Saturday. “I lacked transparency at the beginning of the campaign but, honestly, I’m on the streets every day and no one’s talking to me about that.”

The candidate crossed paths with Lisée on Saturday at the Rosemont street fair; the two shook hands, wished each other well and parted ways in what was a noticeably awkward exchange.

Billions for education

Québec solidaire’s plan for free education from daycare to university will cost the government $2.45 billion a year, the party’s spokespeople said Sunday in Sherbrooke.

Manon Massé said elementary and high school are far from being free for parents, who have to pay administrative and extracurricular fees. The party said their plan would save a family with three children in elementary school about $1,700 on average a year.

New Airbnb law

A Québec solidaire government would implement a new “Airbnb law” to rein in the home rental platform, Massé said on Saturday.

People could offer listings on Airbnb for a maximum of 60 days. To list a space for longer, the person would need to obtain a classification certification from Tourisme Québec, under the party’s plan. Presse Canadienne contributed to this report