The life of a politician isn’t easy — even less so if you’re the leader of a party and a woman, says Liberal (QLP) leader Dominique Anglade.
In politics, women are judged more harshly in many respects, she says. They feel the pressure to be perfect at all times and must constantly prove themselves, with little room for mistakes or anger.
And if you must face Premier Francois Legault every day in parliament, it doesn’t get any better, according to Anglade.
She says her gender has played a role in the premier’s attitude towards her.
“He’s a paternalistic person, that’s for sure,” Anglade said during a lengthy interview with The Canadian Press.
Sitting in a Quebec City cafe, it was the end of a difficult week for her party: in Marie-Victorin’s Monday by-election, the QLP settled for fifth place with a meagre 7 per cent of popular support.
Anglade criticized comments made on the evening of Legault’s victory in the district, when he claimed Quebecers didn’t appreciate her “mudslinging” over the CHSLD Herron, where dozens of seniors died during the first wave of the pandemic.
Was the premier’s comment inaccurate, condescending and even sexist?
“Absolutely,” said Anglade.
Anglade says she’s singled out as “aggressive or whiny” whenever she criticizes the government “in a firm manner” — a reality she believes doesn’t exist for male politicians.
“The bias is there.”
But Anglade tries her best to keep herself in check at the National Assembly, convinced that she would not be forgiven for the slightest misstep, be it a clumsy word or burst of anger.
Anglade also claimed Legault treats the men and women in his circle differently.
“It’s clear that he wipes the slate more easily for men,” she said, referring to the three women who have been removed from the cabinet since the mandate’s beginning: Marie-Chantal Chasse, Sylvie D’Amours and Marie-Eve Proulx.
No male ministers have suffered the same fate, although some have had difficulties.
Anglade cited the case of Economy Minister Pierre Fitzgibbon, who was repeatedly rebuffed by the Ethics Commissioner, but is still in office.
“I could never have done what Pierre Fitzgibbon did” and remained a minister, said Anglade, adding that she has “much less right to make mistakes” than her male counterparts.
To reverse this trend, she argues more space is needed for female political leadership, a reality she hopes will be reflected in all spheres of society.
‘PERFECT WOMAN’ SYNDROME
Knowing they have little room to manoeuvre, female politicians strive to be nothing less than perfect, Anglade explained.
She says she suffers, like so many other women who have tried to make their mark in politics, from “the syndrome of the one who must not make any mistakes.”
But this reflex “limits you in all that you can be, in all that you can say, in the way you express yourself,” she said, adding that it “prevents you from being what you naturally are.”
There’s “a dichotomy between the person I am and the perception” people have, said Anglade; a gap between the public image and the real person.
With the election approaching, the woman who has been leading the QLP for nearly two years intends to be much more present in the field, to make voters discover the “real” Dominique Anglade.
She’s relying on her Charter for Regions to win back the Francophone vote, by advocating for increased decentralization of powers. The first announcement on this subject will be made Thursday in Trois-Rivieres.
Anglade says she wants to return to the party’s core values, including economic development. Her vision includes integrating wealth creation and the fight against climate change into a coherent whole.
The Liberal is well aware that she only has a few months to get back on track, and “the challenge is huge but exciting.”
This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on April 17, 2022.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
