Achi news desk-
Despite her absence, the shadow of Amilize Lessard-Thrain hangs over the opening of the General Conference of Quebec Solidaire (QS).
The reasons for her resignation resurfaced on Saturday, forcing the party’s parliamentary leader, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, to repent.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t prevent his departure. I have my share of the responsibility,” he admitted in his speech on Saturday morning to several hundred supporters gathered in Joncaire.
Beside him, Christine Lavery, who replaced Emilise Lassard-Tharein at short notice, said: “Everyone would have preferred Emilise to be at the microphone now. I am well aware of that.”
On Saturday, Radio-Canada reported on a document in which an associate tells the former leader of the party about the accusations against her party that caused her to resign.
She says that she was disqualified, that she did not have the resources to do her job and that she was rejected after an interview with the public broadcaster. Lesard-Thrain also claims that there was no chemistry between her and her male counterpart, Gabriel Nadeau-DuBois.
“It’s time to renew Solidaire Quebec”
The resignation sent shock waves through the party. After a few difficult weeks, punctuated by a lot of written exchanges, the General Conference is a key moment for Ndeau-DuBois, who wants to convey the Segounay declaration to his friends. He also wants to reduce the party program to make it more “pragmatic”.
It’s time to modernize Quebec Solidaire, as we have done several times in the past,” he told supporters. Quebec Solidaire’s parliamentary leader got a boost this week when CAQ Housing Minister France-Elaine Dorneau submitted a bill to better protect senior tenants, a long-standing demand of QS .
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois was quick to point out this final gain during his opening speech.
“We all sacrifice our political commitment for a reason. Well, here’s my reason,” he said.
The party is clearly expecting some heated debates this weekend. Saturday opened with a speech by Martin Roy, a member of the QS Ethics Committee, with the aim of making the discussions at the conference more harmonious.
“I invite us to free ourselves from the blame game, because it is harmful to climate activism,” he told friends. This intervention “is a new practice developed as part of our reflections on improving our healthy discussion practices,” the party says.
This week QS MNA Alexander Leduc wrote a letter ahead of this weekend’s debates, urging activists to stay in the party despite possible disappointment. On Saturday, he acknowledged the risk of members ripping up their cards.
“I hope there will be as few as possible… I’m always heartbroken when this happens,” he said.
Anti-immigration referendum
During his speech, Nadeau-DuBois took the opportunity to slam the Parti Québécois.
“We cannot let Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon turn the great and beautiful project of Quebec independence into a referendum against immigration,” he said, drawing applause from supporters.
The QS parliamentary leader drew a parallel between the PQ leader and Prime Minister François Legault. “More often than not, they agree. Housing, schools, French, public services; whatever the problem, for these two, it’s always immigration’s fault,” he argued.
He also attacked the “good old” Liberal Party for “dreaming of bringing back austerity measures”.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 24, 2024.
