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Montreal Gazette
a day ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Karl Blackburn on how Quebec Liberals can beat the CAQ
The Corner Booth Before the Quebec Liberals can have any hope of unseating the CAQ government in the 2026 provincial election, first they need to elect a new leader. Party members will choose one on June 14 in Quebec City. A late entry into the contest is Karl Blackburn, former MNA for Roberval from 2003 to 2007, and a chief organizer for the party. Blackburn also served as the president and CEO of the Conseil du patronat du Québec (CPQ), the province's largest employers' group. The Quebec Liberal leadership candidate joined hosts Bill Brownstein and Aaron Rand on this week's episode of The Corner Booth at Snowdon Deli to lay out his vision for uniting the Liberal base in Montreal with the vote-rich regions of the province. Blackburn feels his Lac-St-Jean bonafides will serve the party well outside of the 514-416. 'Mr. Legault in 2022 showed to everybody that he can form a government without Montreal, but we can't form a government without the regions,' Blackburn said. He added appealing to the regions doesn't have to come at the expense of alienating the province's English-speakers. 'It's interesting to see the guy from Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean defend the anglophone community,' Blackburn said. 'This is exactly what I'm doing. I don't want the closed leadership of Mr. Legault, dividing francophones against anglophones.' Blackburn talked about his opposition to the CAQ government's language, education and health-care bills. He also commented on the 'anyone but Rodriguez' sentiment brewing in the race against the early front-runner, former Montreal-area federal minister Pablo Rodriguez. 'The PLQ are not going to be a government anymore if we're not able to reconnect with the regions, and this is my strength,' Blackburn said in response to what would make him a more attractive candidate than Rodriguez. The trio also paid tribute to astronaut and politician Marc Garneau, who passed away this week at the age of 76. Garneau most recently appeared on The Corner Booth in January.
Montreal Gazette
2 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
CAQ government adopts law to limit length of labour disruptions
Quebec Politics By QUEBEC — Despite the staunch opposition of Quebec's labour unions, the National Assembly has adopted legislation designed to limit prolonged labour disruptions. With the support of the Quebec Liberals, the Coalition Avenir Québec government pushed Bill 89, which the unions have tagged a declaration of war on them, into law Thursday. The vote tally was 94 in favour, 17 against. Québec solidaire and Parti Québécois MNAs opposed. But Labour Minister Jean Boulet defended the new law, saying something had to be done to better protect the population in the event of long labour conflicts. 'It's important to find the right balance between the exercise of the right to strike or lock out and the needs of the population,' Boulet said shortly before the vote was taken. 'In many different sectors, we've observed many conflicts that have had tremendous repercussions for the population. I think about the parents, I think about the families, I think about the children who have particular needs when they have a specific disease or handicap.' Boulet noted Quebec is the Canadian champion when it comes to labour conflicts. He said Statistics Canada data shows Quebec set a record for strikes in 2023 with 690 work stoppages and broke that total in 2024 with 754 strikes. 'We have to take care of that,' Boulet said. Recent polling shows the population is also on the side of the government. According to a Léger poll commissioned by the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses last week, 74 per cent of Quebecers think that too many labour disruptions are bad for the economy. As well, 72 per cent of Quebecers believe the government should be able to intervene to end labour disputes. Boulet refuted claims by the unions and QS that the law gives the government too much power to intervene. Under the terms of the law, the Quebec cabinet will have the power to adopt a decree to refer a prolonged labour conflict affecting the public to the Administrative Labour Tribunal. The parties would then have seven days to reach an agreement to maintain services after which the tribunal would act itself to establish the list of essential services. The law excludes the health sector and civil service because they are already subject to the Essential Services Act, which requires them to maintain an acceptable level of services. The law includes a second mechanism giving the minister the power to submit a dispute to an arbitrator if he feels there is a 'real or apprehended threat,' that a strike or lockout will cause the population irreparable damage. This power could only be used in the event of a failed attempt to reach an agreement by a conciliator or mediator. 'It is important to repeat that it isn't a decision to be made by the government itself,' Boulet said. When he presented the bill, he ran down a long list of labour conflicts in which he said the public suffered, including the 2023 strike at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery that prevented families from burying their loved ones. 'I invite you to talk to those families,' Boulet said when the bill was presented in January 2025. The legislation also earned the support of Quebec's powerful business lobby, but the province's labour unions staged protests in front of the National Assembly in April. On Thursday, the opposition parties spoke out against the bill again. QS MNA Alexandre Leduc called Bill 89 'authoritarian and discriminatory.' 'It's too much power for one man,' Leduc told reporters. 'The right to strike is not fun for anyone, but it is the only tool left for a lot of people trying to reach a better distribution of wealth in Quebec.' He added that the law already on the books, the Essential Services Act, would have sufficed to settle most of the labour disputes Boulet mentioned in his pitch for the new law. Interim Liberal leader Marc Tanguay went the other way and said his party believes the new law is justified. 'I think it's important that we modernize our law, and a balanced approach is part of the solution,' Tanguay said. This story was originally published May 29, 2025 at 3:36 PM.
Montreal Gazette
7 days ago
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Pablo Rodriguez on defensive as Liberals seek way to win back votes in regions
By RIVIÈRE-DU-LOUP — Despite criticism from one of his competitors, Pablo Rodriguez says it would be perfectly legitimate for the next leader of the Quebec Liberals to represent a riding on the island of Montreal. 'What's most important is to have Quebec in your heart, to have the regions in your heart,' Rodriguez said at a news conference. 'It's as if there is something bad in coming from Montreal. 'I grew up in Sherbrooke. What's important is I will be the premier of all Quebecers.' The question of where Rodriguez would run roared to life Sunday during the sixth and final debate before the June 14 election of a new Quebec Liberal Party leader, a replacement for Dominique Anglade. The theme of the debate was the regions. Virtually shut out in ridings off the island of Montreal in the 2022 general election, the party desperately needs to win back francophone voters outside Montreal if it stands any chance of winning the next general election in 2026. It was former Liberal MNA Karl Blackburn, campaigning he is the man to rebuild the Liberals in the regions, who raised the issue of the leader's pedigree in a particularly intense moment of the debate before 150 Liberals gathered at the Hôtel Lévesque here. He told the crowd that in 2022 the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) formed a government with 90 MNAs and only two were from Montreal. 'It shows you can form a government without Montreal, but you can't form a government without the regions of Quebec,' Blackburn said, adding in his mind the ballot box question in this race is who is best equipped to win those votes back. 'Unfortunately, voting for Pablo is to again abandon the landscape of the regions of Quebec and the economy,' Blackburn fired across the stage. At another point of the debate, Blackburn challenged Rodriquez to say where he would run. Blackburn noted he and the three other candidates have pledged to run for seats in the regions: him in Roberval, Charles Milliard in Orford, Marc Bélanger in the Outaouais, and Mario Roy in the Beauce. Rodriguez, who represented the Montreal riding of Honoré-Mercier when he was an MP and is leading the candidates in the polls, has not said where he would run should he become leader. Rodriguez has indicated he is mulling over either running in the Eastern Townships or in Montreal. He has said win or lose the leadership, he will be a candidate for the Liberals in 2026. At his own encounter with the media later, Blackburn did not back down. 'He did not even accept to say where he will run,' Blackburn said. 'For me, Pablo is a double zero. I don't need to find a region to say I come from. I am from Saguenay—Lac-St-Jean. The regions of Quebec have always been my playground. 'It was a great opportunity for him (Rodriguez) to say he will run in the regions.' The other candidates, however, were cautious about wading into the feud, which was not the first one between Rodriguez and Blackburn. 'It was not an anti-Montreal debate,' said Charles Milliard, a pharmacist and former president of the Fédération des chambres de commerce du Québec who lives in North Hatley. 'I sense a certain slippage in this debate; to the effect that if you once lived in Montreal you can't show your face in public.' As for Rodriguez possibly running in Montreal, Milliard said: 'Who am I to judge that? He will make his own decision. We're going to need 125 candidates, I'm going to need 124 amazing candidates and I would be very pleased to have him on my team.' Bélanger, an international trade lawyer, had an answer at the ready. 'Voting Marc Bélanger, that's a good choice for the regions,' he told reporters. Bélanger added 'people can run where they want,' but he has the knowledge of both Montreal and the regions. He is from Matane. The debate was just about the final pitch for votes from the candidates as the clock ticks down to election day. During the debate, all five said they are the best equipped to defeat the CAQ and block a comeback by the Parti Québécois, which leads in the polls. But candidate Roy, a 31-year-old economist and farmer from the Beauce who is barely registering in the polls, announced off the top of the debate he would not be rallying or working with the winning candidate no matter who comes out on top because he disagrees with all their positions. Roy also revealed to the crowd he put up $40,000 required to run in the race and now has to fundraise from Liberals to pay it back. To date, his campaign has raised $3,600. If he fails, Roy will be found in violation of the province's electoral laws and barred from seeking public office. 'It's do or die,' Roy said. 'If I am not elected, the party is finished. If I am not elected, the PQ will take power and my province is finished. It's do or die. If I am not elected the PQ and (Donald) Trump have a free hand. My country is finished.' Now that the debates are done, it will soon be time for the Liberals to start voting for their new leader. The process kicks off June 9 and runs to June 14. They can do it by phone, internet or in person at the site of the leadership convention June 14 at the Quebec City convention centre. While all members of the party have a vote, the party is using a weighting formula by riding and by age group. Under this formula, each of Quebec's 125 ridings are allocated 3,000 points. One thousand of those points are in the hands of youth members (25 years old and under). The total number of points awarded is 375,000. To win, a candidate has to obtain a majority of those points, or 187,501. If no candidate obtains a majority in the first round of voting, a second is held between the two candidates with the most votes. At the deadline to become a member to be eligible to vote, the party had 20,495 members. The candidates have one more chance to address Liberals: in speeches the day of the election at the convention. This story was originally published June 1, 2025 at 6:25 PM.
