Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy confirms she won’t run for Liberal Party leadership

Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy has closed the door to running in the race for the leadership of the Liberal Party of Quebec.

During a press briefing Friday morning, the MNA for Saint-Laurent admitted that she was “torn” about the idea of entering the race, because it interests her. However, she wants to conceive a second child with her husband, MNA Gregory Kelly, and she says that she does not see herself embarking on this adventure with a baby.

“At this point, it’s not possible. I can’t,” she said.

Calling for emergency meeting on the state of education in Quebec

As spokesperson for the official opposition on education and higher education, Rizqy criticized the Minister of Education Bernard Drainville harshly for his “inaction” regarding the lack of teachers in the network.

While the government has known since early June that Quebec anticipates that there will be a shortage of nearly 14,000 teachers in the education network within the next four years, she sad, it kept that information confidential and only revealed it in September.

Quebec needs to recruit 13,600 teachers annually. However, only 3,000 graduates leave universities annually, leading to a shortage of 10,000 teachers in Quebec each year.

Lack of action and planning criticized

“When you’re Minister of Education and you learn of a bomb as big as 14,000 teachers are going to be missing,” Rizqy stated during the press briefing “you have to call an emergency meeting with everyone involved.”

She said that there are many people who can offer solutions to some of these problems.

“A Minister of Education cannot lower his flag,” stated the MNA for Saint-Laurent, who chastised Minister Drainville, accusing him of inaction.

“With such crucial information, he should have felt the moral obligation to immediately disclose it.”