Couillard leaves as a defender of minority rights
Resigns as leader and MNA, asks party to ‘stay faithful to its values’
QUEBEC As Quebec Liberals faced the stark reality of life in opposition and their once noble party lays in tatters, Philippe Couillard had a blunt yet statesmanlike message for them and anyone else who governs Quebec society.
The way Quebec (and, for that matter, any government elected by a majority) treats its minorities goes to the very heart of democracy, he said.
In fact, as with the rights of women, the issue reveals whether a society is advancing morally or regressing. The issue cannot, Couillard said quoting French-Lebanese author Amin Maloof, be considered as “just another file on the pile.”
“The majority does not have all the rights,” Couillard said announcing his exit from politics Thursday after the Liberals’ stunning electoral defeat Monday. “And those it does exercise must be compensated by the protection of those of the minority.
“It’s a fundamental democratic principle.”
It was as unplugged as Couillard gets, what he thinks deep down based on his own life experience.
For a man sometimes accused of not getting ordinary people, the statement ensures he will go down in history as one of the province’s great intellectual leaders; a man who was a much better premier of all Quebecers, who fixed Quebec’s finances, than a political leader willing to sell his soul to win.
It also goes to the heart of the kind of daunting decisions his party faces as it tries to reconnect with the vast majority of francophones and many, many anglophones and allophones who turned their backs on the Liberals.
Couillard’s fears that non-francophones would vote for the Coalition Avenir Québec proved dead wrong Monday. In reality, it was worse. Many didn’t vote at all, leaving the party high and dry.
In some Quebec ridings, the Liberals placed fourth, unheard of in the past. From a powerhouse caucus of 68, the party fell to 32 MNAs and 24.82 per cent of the vote.
Couillard’s statement suggests he knows temptation looms and he bluntly told them — indeed all Quebecers, too — there should be no shortcuts to power, a veiled reference to premier-elect François Legault who milked the identity card for months to woo the francophone vote.
“I ask my party to stay faithful to its values and above all not trade them off for a few votes,” Couillard said. “Attempting to imitate our adversaries will not lead us to victory. The strength of our convictions will.”
With the incoming CAQ government announcing Monday its intention to oblige state authority figures such as police officers and judges to not wear religious symbols like turbans and kippas, Couillard was unwavering.
“New arrivals who will take many of the available jobs in Quebec do not constitute a threat to our distinct character in North America,” Couillard said.
“On this issue, each word, each action counts in one way or another. Our National Assembly, like all parliaments, has a duty to protect their rights rather than restrict them if it wants to conserve its legitimacy.
“Quebec must remain a welcoming and inclusive society where all are invited to the table — a place where we judge humans for what they have in their heads, not on their heads, and for what they bring us in their hearts.”
It remains to be seen whether the party leadership heeds his message to fight the good fight, but the fact an astounding 755,923 fewer Quebecers voted for the Liberals Monday than in 2014 had many still reeling.
It showed on their faces as they gathered a few hours later in a downtown Quebec City hotel for an autopsy of the loss. Among the crowd were defeated candidates including cabinet ministers who told reporters they bit the dust when the CAQ wave rolled in.
“There was an issue with francophones, ”said the minister of youth and public health minister Lucie Charlebois who lost to the CAQ in the riding of Soulanges. “Honestly, they wanted to hear a different message than mine. People said, ‘we like you well enough but it’s time for something else.’ ”
“All I can say is I poured myself into this, heart and soul. I am going home.”
“In the party’s 150-year history, this (loss) is unprecedented,” said Pierre Moreau, who crashed in Châteauguay riding. “It’s clear when you look at the numbers that there are Liberals who stayed home.
“It’s symptomatic of a malaise in the party itself.”
“People didn’t vote for something, they voted against something,” added Serge Simard, an MNA defeated in Dubuc.
The party now has to think of the future, including the looming new session of the legislature.
The Liberals who were elected this week will meet in another caucus Friday morning and will possibly elect their interim leader. So far, four candidates have expressed interest: Pierre Arcand, Christine Saint-Pierre, Gaétan Barrette and Marc Tanguay. At about the same time, the wheels of transition from the Liberal to CAQ government continue to turn. Couillard and Legault are to meet one-onone Friday at 11 a.m. to start the transfer process at their level.
Meanwhile, dozens of defeated MNAs have started cleaning out their offices at the legislature.
Legault and his new cabinet are expected to be sworn in Oct. 16.
For Couillard, however, it’s the end of the line. Not only did he resign Thursday as premier, he also gave up the leadership of the party and his seat as the MNA for the riding of Roberval.
Couillard fought back tears when he got to the point in his resignation speech when he spoke about his future plans to spend more time with his family and grandchildren.
His wife, Suzanne Pilote, tenderly put her arm around him when he said “as the song goes, it’s time to think a bit about us.”
On his way to the podium in the main lobby of the legislature, and when he walked away, a clutch of staffers and supporters cheered.
“After having poured all of my energy into serving Quebec, remaining in politics, regardless of the title or function, is beyond what I am humanly capable of doing,” Couillard said standing in front of six Quebec flags.
“In all, I will have devoted 10 years of my life to public service. It will always be for me a source of great pride. I am leaving Quebec in much better shape than I found it in 2014.”