Five running in Robert Baldwin

BY MARC LALONDE

marc.lalonde@transcontinental.ca

Robert Baldwin is an ethnically diverse riding that also bridges socioeconomic gaps, from the very poor to the very well-off, from million-dollar homes on the banks of Rivière des Prairies to the A ma Baie section of Pierrefonds — a juxtaposition that Liberal candidate Pierre Marsan says he is comfortable representing.

“We have a very interesting mix of cultural communities,” he said. “We have two synagogues, a mosque, a Sikh temple, a Hindu temple, a Greek Orthodox church and a number of other communities. The fact they all get along so well is a testament to the spirit of community in the riding.”

Marsan, who has represented the riding since his election in 1994, said he is proud of the way diverse cultures and religious communities have come together in his riding.

“Once or twice a year, I try to visit all these institutions and meet with the members, talk to them about concerns and help allay any fears they may have. It’s a real privilege to have these people in my riding. They bring strong family values and diverse cultural backgrounds that can help us all learn more about each other,” said Marsan, who won by about 26,000 votes in 2003.

One project Marsan was particularly happy about working on was the Cloverdale Housing Co-operative, which allowed residents of that beleaguered area a chance to “invest in their own community.”

Parti Québécois candidate Alexandre Pagé-Chassé said those same immigrants in Robert Baldwin need more support from the government in their effort to learn French.

“It’s not normal that an immigrant who wants to learn French is unable to do so. In Robert Baldwin, we have a high number of immigrants and a lot of them speak English. There should be a way for the state to help them learn French also,” said the 21-year-old communications and political science major at Université de Montréal. Pagé-Chassé, who was the founder of the separatist society at Collège Gérald-Godin in Ste. Geneviève, said politics is something he takes “very seriously,” and feels a Canada without Quebec in it would be best for both sides.

“I think Canada and Quebec would both be able to move forward separate rather than together,” he said, likening the relationship to a husband and wife who put divorce off for the kids’ sake.

Green Party candidate Shawn Katz, 21, said voters are ready for a party that doesn’t treat government as a series of unconnected issues.

“We’re a party that doesn’t divide people and we have a coherent vision. We hold a more compassionate and more socially-democratic view of government. For instance, other parties treat the environment and the economy as two separate issues; they aren’t. They are inexorably linked. Environmental issues don’t just have an internal cost, they have a real cost, and we want to help Quebecers enjoy a higher standard of living. That doesn’t necessarily mean dollars, either. gross domestic product statistics don’t tell you how happy people are.”

Québec solidaire candidate Jocelyne Messih said the left-wing social-democracy party was the one that best fit the neophyte candidate’s values. The 37-year-old mother of two children said she was running for office “to do something for my kids’ future. One of my main values, the one I hold closest to my heart, is the work-life balance. My company is big enough for me to assume a part-time work schedule to spend time with my family,” she said, adding that increases in efficiency have made workers more taxed with responsibility, rather than less so. All of the productivity gains we made in the ‘60s and ‘70s were never translated into more family time.”

Messih was involved with the left-wing Union des Forces Progessistes (UFP) party before it merged with Option Citoyenne to form the Québec solidaire party last year.

Action démocratique du Quebec candidate Ginette Lemire, a resident of Terrebonne, could not be reached for comment.

Robert Baldwin is comprised of Dollard des Ormeaux, Roxboro and a part of Pierrefonds.