QUEBEC CITY – On September 4, 2012, Pauline Marois achieved her dream of becoming the province’s first woman premier.
Pure joy turned to anguish on election night, when a man stormed in the Metropolis in Montreal and opened fire, killing one man and injuring another.
The premier also became a target in the National Assembly, where political adversaries said her constant backtracking was creating instability in the province and hurting the economy.
“Only in the month of July, about 30,000 jobs were lost in Quebec,” said Coalition Avenir Quebec MNA François Bonnardel.
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“If you consider that in Canada, in Ontario, in New Brunswick, they made a lot more jobs, I think that’s the main problem with the Parti Quebecois, one year after its election.”
Still, Marois’ PQ government has succeeded in adopting key pieces of legislation, such as the law on integrity, which subjects companies to increased scrutiny if they want public contracts.
Moreover, Marois’ efficient and compassionate intervention in Lac-Megantic propelled her in the polls: the PQ is now just four points behind Philippe Couillard’s Liberals.
“There is a much higher satisfaction level,” said Léger Marketing pollster Sébastien Dallaire.
“We really have a two-way race with the Liberals.”
But the premier’s zero-deficit objective for 2013-2014 is still creating friction with traditional allies.
Cuts to universities, welfare programs and daycare are widely denounced, and the Marois government was unable to keep its promise to cancel the health tax and freeze hydro fees.
The next budget will be an opportunity for the opposition to try to defeat the government, but not before the PQ attempts to tackle reasonable accommodation this fall, hoping to win more points with the electorate.
Democratic Institutions Minister Bernard Drainville is expected to unveil details of his much talked-about Charter of Quebec Values on Monday, September 9.
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