OTTAWA — Jean Charest has had a long run in Canadian politics. He was a cabinet minister under Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney, a key “No” campaigner in the 1995 Quebec referendum and later a long-serving premier of the province. After 10 years in the private sector, Charest is back and vying to lead a much-changed federal Conservative party.
Born: June 24, 1958.
Early years: Charest was born in Sherbrooke, Que., in the eastern part of the province. He studied to become a lawyer, earning a law degree from the Université de Sherbrooke.
Before politics: He was called to the Quebec bar in 1981 and practised law for a few years, but Charest joined the political scene early. Not long after turning 26, he was elected to represent Sherbrooke for the Progressive Conservatives in the 1984 federal election.
Political record: Charest became the youngest cabinet minister in history at 28 when he was named Mulroney’s minister for youth. He became minister of sport in 1988, a position he resigned two years later amid a scandal over judicial interference. He returned to cabinet in 1991 as environment minister. In 1993, he was runner-up to Kim Campbell in a leadership contest and served briefly as her deputy prime minister and industry minister. He took over leadership of the party shortly after her election defeat. The mid-1990s saw a focus on Quebec’s push for sovereignty, with Charest serving as vice-president of the successful “No” campaign in the 1995 referendum. In 1998, Charest was wooed to lead the Quebec Liberals, which he brought to a majority government by 2003. He served as premier for nine years, hailed as a fiscal reformer but with his government and party battling corruption scandals. A provincial anticorruption unit investigation into his government’s dealings wrapped up in early 2022 and made no findings of wrongdoing.
Private sector: Charest is a partner with McCarthy Tétrault LLP and was briefly a consultant for Huawei, the Chinese telecommunications company banned earlier this year from participating in Canada’s 5G networks over cyberespionage concerns.
Family: Charest married Michèle Dionne in 1980. They have three children.
Quote: “Am I ready to stand up for the things I believe in even if they are unpopular? The answer is yes. Because in the end, for me, it’s about doing the right thing. Otherwise what’s the point of politics? What’s the point? Just read the polls and follow them? Politics isn’t some sort of a cheap parade where you just throw yourself in front of the crowd and try to lead it. It’s about change. It’s about the country. It’s about the idea that we have about Canada.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 4, 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.
