Nadeau-Dubois trades red square for dark blue tie
He found a necktie and strapped it on before he walked in the door.
The new MNA for Gouin, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, may be devoted to rocking the boat and considers politics rife with corruption, but even he has to respect the decorum of the legislature.
Hence, on his first day on the job, the tie, dark blue, a replacement for the red square patch of the student revolt against tuition hikes he organized in 2012.
“What I have around my neck is not important,” he told reporters later when asked about the hasty makeover. “What’s important is what I say, the ideas I defend, and the vision of society I am putting forward.”
But even if he was forced into a different attire — he has never been seen in a tie — Nadeau-Dubois showed no signs of wavering from his principles or rebellious side, especially as he was being sworn into office in the red room Tuesday.
He indulged in the time-honoured tradition of pro-independence politicians, which is to “adjust” the oath to Queen Elizabeth everyone must swear before getting a seat in the Salon Bleu.
“While waiting for the emergence of a free republic forged in partnership with the First Nations,” Nadeau-Dubois said before the segue to the oath to Canada’s Queen.
The Canadian flag had been removed for the occasion.
With mum and dad and about 100 Québec solidaire supporters looking on proudly, Nadeau-Dubois let fly at the political class he now finds himself part of since winning a byelection last week.
“Too many corruption scandals have affected this honourable institution, which is supposed to trace the line between the just and the unjust,” he said in his first address inside the walls.
“This corruption, unfortunately, is just the clearest syndrome of the profound illness afflicting our democracy. As Aristotle taught us long ago, corrupting something is to deteriorate the substance of a thing to the point it is unrecognizable.”
In this case, he said, the greatest corruption was when the government decided it was beholden to people nobody elected: the financial markets and bond rating agencies.
“I am part of a generation that has only witnessed one constitutional law in Quebec and that is attaining a zero deficit,” he said. “The walls of social solidarity are cracking and inequalities are on the rise. And there is no real democracy without a minimum of real equality.”
Earlier, at his first news conference, Nadeau-Dubois was tested on a series of issues. After being fuzzy on the concept in the past, Nadeau-Dubois finally conceded violence is not a means to attain a political objective.
But he wouldn’t condemn civil disobedience, saying in the history of democracies it has been used many times.
He brushed aside questions about the failed talks with the Parti Québécois about a possible electoral alliance, saying it’s water under the bridge. QS will present its own candidates in 125 ridings.
“It’s time to turn the page,” he said. “I don’t feel like sticking labels on people and hurling mud at the PQ.”
And he insisted he has matured since the days of the student strike.
“I have travelled all over Quebec and met thousands of people,” he said. “Naturally, this has changed me. But I still believe in the ideas and values for a better society that I defended in 2012.”
Later, the two other QS MNAs in the house, Manon Massé and Amir Khadir, escorted him into the legislature. Premier Philippe Couillard, PQ Leader Jean-François Lisée and CAQ Leader François Legault, were attending Barack Obama’s speech in Montreal so they didn’t get a chance to address him.
But one person who has full confidence is his father, Gilles Dubois, a retired union organizer.
“What’s important for me is that he remain faithful to his values,” Gilles Dubois said, beaming with pride.
“This is how his mother and I raised him, understanding the importance of being coherent and socially engaged helping others.”
What I have around my neck is not important. What’s important is what I say.