Christine Labrie working to balance opposition and cooperation
In last October’s Provincial Election, Sherbrooke MNA Christine Labrie was the only person to be elected in the Eastern Townships who was a member of a party other than the majority Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ). Four months out from election night, the Quebec Solidaire (QS) Critic for Education, Sports and Recreation, Families, and the Status of Women said that she is settling into her new role well.
“We are starting to be really efficient,” Labrie said sharing that even though she is the only representative of her party this side of Montreal, she does not feel isolated. While stating that she intends to work in open cooperation with her CAQ neighbours on matters of importance to the region, the MNA said that being the only opposition voice in the Townships has meant that she has become a person sought out by groups who don’t feel they are heard by the government.
“It puts a big pressure on me and the work we are doing here,” Labrie said. “It’s like I have become the progressive MNA for the region.”
The Sherbrooke MNA said that she has been approached by several community groups and organizations both inside and outside of her riding who feel like they do not have the support of the CAQ. Among these she listed renters’ associations, local labour unions, and the local school boards.
“They know that they will have an attentive ear here,” she said, adding that she is happy to listen even if she does not have the resources to take on the challenges of those in ridings outside her own. “When people ask, what is the value of an MNA who is not a part of the government, and is there a point? We can see here that the answer is yes.”
Right now Labrie said that her focus is on environmental matters in the Townships, with particular attention to the matter of the Coventry Dump expansion south of the border, and the question of improving mass transit systems in Sherbrooke.
“I want to work with my neighbouring representatives,” she said, explaining that she is already working closely with Orford MNA Gilles Belanger on the Coventry file. “We both agree that this is a matter of environmental and public health.”
Given the fact that the CAQ and Quebec Solidaire occupy fairly opposite ends of the political spectrum, Labrie said that she’s sure that at some point in the next four years she will find herself butting heads with the other local politicians, but it hasn’t happened yet.
“I will be happy to collaborate with them as often as necessary,” she said. “We are working for the region.”
On the mass transit file, which her party has identified as a provincial priority, Labrie said that Quebec Solidaire has asked Premier Francois Legault to present clear actions beyond just the expansion of the Montreal Metro and the tramway project in Quebec City. On the local level, she said she would like to see priority bus lanes and improved service along King Street in Sherbrooke to prioritize sustainable modes of transportation in the city and move away from a dependency on cars.
Labrie said that although people asked a lot of questions about her party during last year’s election campaign, the tone has changed to one of encouragement since she entered office.
“People are very open to what we are proposing and encouraged by the way we work,” the MNA said, explaining that she feels Quebec Solidaire’s expansion off of the island of Montreal helped to raise the party’s profile in the public awareness.
Asked about her discussion with local school boards, Labrie said that she has met with all the school boards in the Estrie region, including the Eastern Townships School Board.
“There were many questions about how to make the role of a school board better known.” She said. “I think that it was well understood by the commissioners that people don’t necessarily see the work they are doing.”
The MNA said that she feels that the boards have a legitimate role to play, particularly when it comes to ensuring equity between different schools and helping to provide resources on a larger scale than an individual school can manage on its own, but argued that they need to work to make their efforts more clear.