Liberal MNAs band together for campaign launch

BY MARC LALONDE

marc.lalonde@transcontinental.ca

The front-runners in the four provincial West Island ridings officially launched their campaign Monday morning by slamming Parti Québécois leader André Boisclair’s decision to drop the word ‘referendum’ from the PQ’s official campaign platform and replace it with ‘public consultation’ on sovereignty.

“If it walks like a duck, and it quacks like a duck, chances are it’s a duck,” Jacques Cartier incumbent Geoff Kelley said Monday morning at the launch, held at Robert Baldwin incumbent Pierre Marsan’s campaign office in Dollard des Ormeaux.

“The Parti Québécois wants to lead Quebecers down the referendum path, there’s no question about that,” he added.

Marquette incumbent François Ouimet, who was first elected on the same day as Kelley and Marsan in 1994, was in attendance, as was Nelligan incumbent Yolande James, who grabbed her job in a 2004 byelection.

Ouimet lauded the Liberal government’s economic achievements, including the lowest unemployment rate seen in Quebec since 1977.

“There has been a constant decrease of unemployment since we were elected in 2003,” Ouimet said. “The unemployment rate was at 9.3 per cent in 2003 and it’s at 7.7 per cent today. We’ve reduced the number of public employees by 3,700 through retirement and we’ve reduced the number of obsolete crown corporations by 35,” he said.

Even better, Ouimet said, Quebec is no longer the highest-taxed jurisdiction in North America

“There are other provinces with higher tax burdens than ours now,” he said.

The four incumbents outlined the party’s economic platforms for the March 26 election, which include a four per cent cap on provincial spending, reducing management costs from 15 per cent to 10 per cent on projects and reduce the size of the state by further cutting the number of provincial employees.

Flanked by Quebec and Canadian flags, Kelley said Charest good relationship with the federal government has proven federalism works for Quebec.

“I’m very proud of our leader,” Kelley said. “He’s an excellent leader for Quebec.”