For four years, we have wondered who will embody the opposition for the Legault government.
We may have found the answer: the mayors of Quebec.
We knew their profile: more progressive, more ecological and more demographically diverse.
But we did not suspect their ability to impose a new balance of power on the government.
Immobilism
In the environment, the CAQ is engulfed in an immobility that is frankly worrying.
From logging to the real estate crisis, via the tramway, until the 3e link and urban sprawl, the Legault government is becoming a relentless knight of the status quo.
It acts like a ball and chain attached to the ankle of change.
Worse, he likes to build completely artificial confrontations.
The examples pile up.
Whether it is Éric Caire who accuses Bruno Marchand of “polluting the lives of drivers”, Geneviève Guilbault unable to clearly support the Quebec tramway, François Bonnardel believing that urban sprawl is a “fad” or Prime Minister François Legault, who opposes demagoguery to regional development, is all regarding clientelism.
No one can deny that the government is in symbiosis with Quebecers.
But this is not the case in the environment. Of course, there are Quebecers who are reluctant to change. But most are much closer to the will of their elected municipal officials to change our conception of urbanity and build more breathable cities.
This is the influence of Projet Montréal: these mayors have succeeded in linking the environment and quality of life. Their success comes from there.
Opposition
Faced with a wait-and-see government, it is refreshing to see our mayors getting organized, imposing a balance of power and winning their battles.
The formula says it well: if the politician thinks of the next election, the head of state thinks of the next generation.
Unfortunately, in terms of the environment, our prime minister has not yet put on the clothes of head of state.