Charest shares political savvy with Galt students
Jean Charest told a group of Alexander Galt high school students his earliest motivation to enter politics came from his desire to help people.
The former Quebec Premier Jean Charest stopped by the high school Friday to speak with students in model parliament about his career in politics.
“I started in student council,” he told the students, although rallying the masses didn’t always come naturally.
“I was so shy they had to push me on stage to speak,” Charest admitted. He eventually won the election, which would forever shape his life. “I enjoyed the experience of being able to change things,” he said.
Charest, born in Sherbrooke, began his career as a lawyer. Being from a middle class family, he ended up seeing a demographic of society that struggled a lot, something he wasn’t used to. “These were people who had difficult lives; mostly men between 15-25. A lot of them couldn’t read or write,” he said, surprised.
“I liked to help my clients, not just be their lawyer,” Charest told the students.
He sometimes brought his work home with him. One morning as his wife Michèle went downstairs to leave for work, she found a gentlemen asleep on the couch. “Who is that,” she asked. Charest explained that it was a client who needed a place to sleep. “What did he do?”
“He stole a safe,” Charest replied. A colleague of Charest’s gave him some sound advice. “If you want to be a
social worker to your clients, you deprive them of the services of the lawyer.”
Charest decided to become a change maker and pursue politics. He was 26 at the time. “I came in with a wave,” Charest explained.
He described the ups and downs of his political career for the Galt students, pulling no punches.
Just six years into what seemed like a promising career, Charest, the youngest person ever to serve in a federal cabinet position (Minister of State-youth), breached the code of ethics by writing a letter to a judge regarding a Canadian athlete.
He immediately resigned from his position, embarrassed and thinking he had no future in politics. His supporters had other plans. Despite his mistake, which occurred while in New Zealand, he was greeted at the airport by two busloads of Sherbrookers encouraging him to learn from his mistakes and move on.
Charest would go on to spend 28 years in public life with plenty more ups and downs, including the 1993 election where his party at the time suffered the biggest defeat in electoral history, dropping from 169 seats to two.
His most recent position was three consecutive mandates as Premier of Quebec for the Liberal Party.
“There’s nothing that could give me as much satisfaction,” Charest told the students, of his career in politics. “I have a deep affection for this country, he said.
“Citizenship is like a lottery. To be born in this country at this time is like winning first prize,” Charest said.
For the last five years, Charest has been working for a law firm as a strategic advisor.
Looking at the world right now, Charest offered some insight to the students based on his recent work and travels.
“When you read the news, you get the sense that the world is falling apart,” Charest said, explaining that in fact, globally, there has been a decrease in poverty in the last 40 years. There has also been an increase in the middle class, and people in general are living longer, healthier lives.
According to Charest, of great concern is the prominence of nationalistic rhetoric and extensive military spending in the world right now.
“Combined, those things create an environment where conflict can happen,” he said.
“People underestimate how quickly that can happen.”
Following his speech, Charest took questions from the students.
When asked what the young model parliamentarians should be doing right now to prepare for the future, Charest said they should be asking questions, trying new experiences, and thinking with a critical mind, not a cynical one.
He shared some advice from his mother; “It’s not the size of your bank account or the car in your yard that will matter, it’s what you’ve done with your life.”
One student asked how Charest handled the responsibility of running a province.
“It takes a high level of discipline,” he answered, adding that having a strong support network around him was essential.
“I also learned very early on to ask for help,” Charest said.
When asked how he felt about lowering the voting age, Charest said that at 16, kids have other priorities. “I believe 18 is the right time,” he said, explaining that at that age, people have gained more experience.
In terms of life lessons, Charest told the students that his circle of family and friends was always the most important thing in his life.
He added that every time he dared to push and challenge himself ended up being the moments that made the biggest difference in his life.