Quebec legislative session begins, unions demand suspension of work

The Legault government no longer has the “legitimacy” to impose bills that “divide Quebec society,” according to Mélanie Hubert, president of the teachers’ union the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE).

As the National Assembly resumes after a turbulent hiatus marked by the announcement of Premier François Legault’s resignation, the FAE and other unions are calling for a pause.

If the parliamentary session can’t be extended, the government should pause the study of at least three bills, namely those concerning the Quebec Constitution, union governance, and the strengthening of secularism, they argued.

“Whether it’s prorogation, cancellation, or delay, all of these options are desirable to us (…) given that the government itself recognizes that it no longer has the ear of the public,” said Hubert at a news conference in Quebec City on Tuesday morning.

She was accompanied by other union leaders, including François Enault, first vice-president of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, Christian Daigle, president of the Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec, and Luc Vachon of the Centrale des syndicats démocratiques.

The session that opened in Quebec City on Tuesday is the last before the general election. It is likely to be chaotic, as leadership races are underway in two parties, the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Quebec Liberal Party.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews