Legault government bills: let him hold an election on them, says CSQ

The CSQ is asking the Legault government to make the elections about its recent bills, if it really believes that the population supports them.

“Let him run for election on this issue and then we’ll see,” said Eric Gingras, president of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec, during his traditional New Year’s press conference on Tuesday in Montreal.

“The honest and responsible thing to do is to put these guidelines to a vote,” he added.

He is referring not only to bills that unions describe as anti-union, such as the one on union governance and transparency, and the one that governs the exercise and repercussions of labour disputes, but also to the bill on the Quebec constitution.

“All the bills currently have a common thread, which is to weaken the checks and balances,” exclaimed Gingras.

“You look at Bill 1 or 3, but also others, what they’re saying is ‘you will no longer have the right, for such and such a reason, to challenge government decisions.’ Is that what we want in Quebec? Do we want to increase the decision-making power of governments, without having the ability, between elections, to have our say? We think not,” he said.

He admits that he does not believe Premier François Legault would base an election campaign on these controversial bills, “because he knows very well that it is not a priority for anyone.”

Reflections on education

On another topic,  Gingras believes that the demand, repeatedly made by the CSQ, to hold an in-depth reflection on education, from early childhood to higher education, is gaining ground.

The education authority is calling for a broader reflection on what is expected of schools, their role in ensuring equal opportunities, and the resources available to students with special needs. Discussions could also include violence in schools, literacy, and the place of religion.

And, according to Gingras, we need to go beyond one-off interventions on specific topics. “At the beginning of the year, we might talk about using formal address, or about cell phones, as we did a few months ago. But in the end, these are small gestures that don’t really change the network for the people who work there. We need to go deeper, and that requires a lot of thought.”

Since the CSQ called for this major reflection, he reports that political parties are now listening. He believes that with the election campaign taking place in the coming months, the idea of ​​holding this major reflection on education will garner some support.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews