Parti Québecois focus on getting out the youth vote

Standing at the main entrance of Collège Gérald-Godin in Ile Bizard/Ste. Geneviève earlier today, Parti Québecois members for the local Nelligan, Jacques Cartier and Robert Baldwin ridings attempted to engage CEGEP students to converse about politics in an effort to build up their enthusiasm.

"Eighteen to 25-year-olds are the least-voting age group if I'm not mistaken, which I find is wrong," said Robert Baldwin candidate Alexandre Pagé-Chassé. "It's their lives that will be affected the most by decisions made today, not the lives of people that are already 65-70 years old today," he added.

Gérald Godin holds a place of symbolic importance for the Parti Québecois. The institution is named after a writer and reporter who ran as a candidate for the sovereignist party in 1976, defeating Liberal incumbent premier Robert Bourassa in his riding of Mercier.

Furthermore, it was Parti Québecois pressure to have a post-secondary education institution available in French in the West Island that liberated the funds to open up the college in 1999.

This could explain why many of the local PQ candidates place an emphasis on the importance of the French language. "I think it's important that we are able to be served in the language we prefer, whether that's English or French," said Jacques Cartier candidate Olivier Gendreau, stating that it is sometimes still difficult to be able to be served in French in places like Fairview Shopping Centre.

"I have a lot of respect for Anglophones, for (my Liberal rival) Mr. Kelley," he added.

As Gendreau spoke, his Nelligan riding colleague, Anaïs Valiquette-L'Heureux, was busy distributing information pamphlets to students that entered and left the building.

"It's important to learn French," she said in between meeting and greeting students, rifling off a statistic about how less than 50 per cent of unilingual Anglophones in the province end up earning jobs, whereas that number for unilingual Francophones is 50 to 60 per cent.

Valiquette-L'Heureux slammed the provincial Liberals for what she viewed as relentlessly placing the blame for any of Quebec's current problems at the feet of the previous Parti Québecois government. "It has been years now that Jean Charest is in power," she said. "I think it's time he started to take some responsibility."

Much ado has been made of how the traditionally separatist Parti Québecois is not making sovereignty a campaign issue this election. In an interview with The Chronicle last week, Robert Baldwin's Liberal incumbent Pierre Marsan had said the threat of sovereignty remained a danger to federalist Quebecers everywhere. "This is a major concern," Marsan said.

The local candidates said the PQ is not trying to hide anything.

"It surprises me that we're talking about 'hiding' a sovereignist agenda," said Gendreau, adding the PQ is not denying a separatist agenda, but rather is simply focusing on the economy right now since it is a more pressing issue.

"Is Jean Charest not federalist because he's not talking about the federation?" Asked Gendreau.

Gendreau said he firmly believes a separatist Quebec, with all economic levers in its hands, would be able to deal better with the global financial crisis.

Valiquette-L'Heureux echoed his sentiments. "Right now, we don't control our own economy," she said.

Neither Gendreau and Pagé-Chassé gave themselves any illusions about winning. "I hope that people are going to hear out my message," the former said, adding he would hope to finish in a strong second place.

"No West Island riding has ever been won by a PQ candidate," said Pagé-Chassé. "But I still believe in giving people an alternative choice," he added.

Valiquette-L'Heureux seemed more optimistic. "Anything is possible," she said.

In 2007, the PQ in Nelligan finished in third place with 8.85 per cent of the popular vote. It was the highest percentage earned in any of the three West Island ridings. In Jacques Cartier the PQ came in third with 4.22 per cent, and in Robert Baldwin, Pagé-Chassé, who is the only returning candidate for the party, finished in fourth place with 5.34 per cent.