QUEBEC CITY – After 18 months in power, the PQ is calling Quebecers to the polls.
This morning, Premier Pauline Marois walked over to the lieutenant governor’s office and asked him to dissolve the National Assembly.
Premier Pauline Marois said she can no longer govern with the opposition blocking her bills.
Ultimately, she’s willing to violate her own fixed-date election law to take advantage of favourable public opinion polls.
The campaign is starting out in the deep freeze.
The Premier hoping to melt enough hearts in the next 33 days to win herself a majority government.
“We are blocked on the language issue, on the charter issue, on the health-care issue,” said Rejean Hebert, Minister for Health and Social Services.
“We need a majority government to really do what the Quebecers want to do.”
Polls show a majority is within reach.
The PQ has 37% of voting intentions with 45% in francophone ridings.
The Liberals have 35% and the CAQ 15%.
Marois herself seems to think it’s her election to lose.
She remained extremely prudent at the launch of the campaign and refused to take reporters’ questions.
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“I won’t answer questions,” she said.
“Don’t worry though, the time will come.”
Her silence was harshly criticized.
Liberal leader Philippe Couillard says unlike Marois, he’ll talk about what he called “real issues.”
“Francophone voters have the same preoccupations than English-speaking Quebecers or other communities,” he said.
“They want a strong economy, they want jobs, they want good health-care, good education.”
From cheers to tears, there was some bad news for the CAQ on this first day.
Health critic Helene Daneault announced she’s dropping out of the race, and Francois Legault, who was counting on the Charbonneau Commission to dig up some dirt on the other parties is stymied – the commission is out for a month.
“Yes I would have liked to know what happened in the last ten, 20 years with the PQ and the Liberals regarding ways to finance those parties,” said Legault.
“It’s too bad we couldn’t that information before the election.
As parties prepare to battle, the question remains ‘did we need this election?’
In breaching her own law, Marois will cost taxpayers close to 90 million dollars.
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