Charest got his wish; now it's time we got ours

Quebec Liberal leader Jean Charest made history in the province Monday night by winning a third straight stint as premier, this time with the majority government he was craving so badly. No doubt the federal fiasco helped Charest get an unequivocal mandate from voters, but the reality is that once more, the West Island voted overwhelmingly Liberal this time around and helped Charest get what he wanted. Fine. Now, Mr. Charest, we have a wish list of our own. 1. Put Geoff Kelley in cabinet. Kelley along with fellow West Island stalwarts Pierre Marsan (Robert-Baldwin) and Francois Ouimet (Marquette) has been around since 1994, and took his riding overwhelmingly again. Not only is he well-respected by National Assembly colleagues, he has done an admirable job as a liaison to the province's native community even though the cabinet portfolio was taken from him last time around. Kelley's common sense and voice of reason should be in the cabinet along with rising star Yolande James, who has worked tirelessly as Immigration Minister. 2. Find a legal way to force Gerald Tremblay to stop punishing the suburbs for opting out of his municipal fiefdom in a de-merger referendum. Simply asking Mr. Tremblay to 'please, please apply this extra money we gave you against the suburbs' agglomeration costs,' has not worked thus far. And stupidity is often defined by doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result. So, let's put some safeguards in place. No more unwieldy municipal governing bodies, please. Just a line item that says 'this money must be given to the suburbs.' That's enough. 3. Make this the last election for a while, please. At this point, Quebecers are suffering from election overload, and we just don't have it in us to go back to the polls and it doesn't help that the PQ grabbed most of the votes left by the ADQ as they were reduced from official opposition status to a flaming wreck on the side of the highway. It's troubling for federalists to think that the sovereignty option might once more be gaining steam and that those who wish Quebec to remain in Canada would be forced to vote Liberal strategically, rather than passionately. No Obamas here. Of course, we realize that really, a Liberal majority means the government will continue to bite the hand that feeds the ballot box in the West Island, and that very little will change, as John Abbott political science professor James Leeke said in our Page 1 story. Really, our only hope is for Charest to decide he's had enough of politics and will focus on his legacy, rather than getting re-elected. Maybe then, like the Grinch who stole Christmas his heart will grow three sizes that day, and the West Island won't just be an afterthought. But that's why they call them 'fairy tales'.