Montreal Gazette

Liberals gathering to set rules for leadership race

- PHILIP AUTHIER pauthier@postmedia.com twitter.com/philipauth­ier

Facing an uncertain future, Quebec’s Liberals gather this weekend in Drummondvi­lle to decide the rules of a leadership race that they hope will lift their organizati­on out of its doldrums.

And suddenly all eyes will be on a prominent former Liberal cabinet minister who has already said he doesn’t want to seek the leadership and that it’s time for a new generation to take over.

Pierre Moreau, who was defeated in the riding of Châteaugua­y in the 2018 election, has been thrust back into the spotlight because the perceived front-runner in the leadership race, Pontiac MNA André Fortin, has decided not to seek the crown for family reasons.

Looking for options, some Liberals are upping the pressure on Moreau to reconsider. It’s sometimes overlooked, but Moreau placed second to Philippe Couillard in the 2013 leadership race, and was seen as his successor by many in the Liberal ranks.

Moreau, who is attending the Liberal general council, is expected to keep everyone guessing and repeat that he’s not really chasing the job even though he recently left the door open to a possible run.

“For the moment, I am not there,” Moreau told the Journal de Montréal in late April after Fortin announced he was not running.

“I am touched (by the interest), I am not oblivious to the fact some people sincerely want me to run, but for the moment, I am not there.”

But Fortin’s withdrawal has had other consequenc­es, making it easier for other potential candidates to run and for people not expected to run to take a shot at it.

In the halls of the legislatur­e last week, tongues were wagging about a possible “anybody but Anglade,” movement, a reference to former economic developmen­t minister Dominique Anglade who has indicated she is potentiall­y interested in running.

Anglade’s handicap for a party trying to rebuild credibilit­y among francophon­e voters in the regions is that she’s from Montreal. While she’s well connected with Montreal’s business community, she is untested in the regions.

There are also some Liberals who are ill at ease with Anglade’s past. She was the former president of the Coalition Avenir Québec party before jumping to the Liberals. Other names are floating, too. On Friday, there were also conflictin­g media reports about a possible run by former health and social services minister Gaétan Barrette, who has said in the past that a leadership bid isn’t in his plans.

While Radio-Canada reported Barrette was in reflection and testing the waters, La Presse said he won’t run. Barrette, who didn’t return calls Friday, is expected to clarify his position on arriving at the council on Saturday.

While Barrette is seen by many as authoritar­ian given the hardline way he ran health reforms, some Liberals appreciate his communicat­ion skills and ability to cut to the chase.

A new possible handicap emerged for him Friday: accusation­s from the unions that his reforms weakened Quebec’s youth protection services, which have been in the spotlight all this week after the tragic death of a sevenyear-old Granby girl.

Barrette told La Presse that those reforms had nothing to do with the Granby situation because they didn’t affect the legal system. If anything, youth protection laws need to be reformed, he said.

Another person expected to run, mostly to position herself for the future, is the new MNA for the riding of St-Laurent, Marwah Rizqy, who would assume the role of youth candidate.

Beyond the leadership issue, the chatter in the hallways this weekend may also focus on the party’s position on the CAQ government’s secularism legislatio­n, Bill 21.

Formally, the Liberal party is opposed to the bill because it imposes restrictio­ns on religious symbols and they espouse absolute respect of fundamenta­l freedoms.

But there have been reports that some Liberals want to revisit that position and possibly endorse the old Bouchard-Taylor formula that would impose restrictio­ns on a short list of authority figures: judges, police and prison guards.

By the end of the two-day council, the party will have adopted the rules for the race, including setting dates for candidates to come forward and limits on how much they are allowed to spend.

 ?? JACQUES BOISSINOT/CP ?? Will he or won’t he? Gaétan Barrette is expected to make it clear this weekend whether he’ll run for the Liberal leadership.
JACQUES BOISSINOT/CP Will he or won’t he? Gaétan Barrette is expected to make it clear this weekend whether he’ll run for the Liberal leadership.

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