The Quebec provincial election is quickly making its way around the corner with voting day taking place on Monday, Oct. 3.
According to the Élections Quebec website, there are ten candidates running in the Brome-Missisquoi region for this year’s election.
These candidates are: Isabelle Charest (Coalition avenir Québec), Pierre Fontaine (Démocratie directe), Sébastien Houle (Indépendant), Alexandre Legault (Québec solidaire), Lynn Moore (Canadian Party of Québec), Caitlin Moynan (Green Party), Guillaume Paquet (Parti québécois), Stéphanie Prévost (Parti conservateur du Québec), Tommy Quirion-Bouchard (Climat Québec), and Claude Vadeboncoeur (Quebec Liberal Party).
For the next week and half, CIDI 99.1 FM is sitting down with candidates who will speak on their political platform and the issues they plan to address in the Brome-Missisquoi riding and at the provincial level.
Tommy Quirion-Bouchard, candidate for Climat Quebec, sat down with us to speak about his party’s political platform and how it plans to serve the region.
If elected in Brome-Missisquoi, Quirion-Bouchard said that he wants to be present on the territory, be close with voters and listen to them to better understand their reality, and concretely change things in the region by organizing face-to-face meetings with the population every three months
“I also want to make it one of my priorities to give dignity to senior citizens in life, as much as in death, and a respectful quality of life to the people who made Quebec what it is, the Quebec that we know, and the Quebec that we love,” said Quirion-Bouchard.
At the provincial level, Quirion-Bouchard said that he wants to give more authority to nurses, clinicians, and health practitioners in Quebec so that minor cases can be treated directly in the emergency room without having to go see a doctor.
“This will open up their (doctors) schedule so that they can focus on urgent cases, which will diminish the wait time in our hospitals,” noted Quirion-Bouchard.
He also wants to ensure that the diplomas of immigrants that arrive to Quebec who work in the health sector are recognized.
“This can increase the the labor force that is available. We also want to implement nursing clinics in the SABSA style (a cooperative made up of nurses and social workers),” explained Quirion-Bouchard.
In terms of projects, initiatives, and ideas of legislative change, Quirion-Bouchard said that Climat Quebec wants to tackle the climate crisis first and foremost.
“We want to tackle the environment and make the changes that go with it. There are no specific projects right now that we will adopt, but it is certain our priority will be climate change,” he emphasized.
Quirion-Bouchard added that Climat Quebec is aaware of the housing crisis, which he says is impacting the Brome-Missisquoi riding considerably.
“I can’t understand, how today, that it’s still that difficult to find housing. A 5 1/2 in our riding at 1,500$, that is unacceptable. We need to make that change quickly for our population,” he explained.
Addressing Bill 96, Quirion-Bouchard noted that Climate Quebec wants to protect Quebec’s official language, but it does not want division.
“I want to say to all English speakers in my riding that they will not be treated like minorities, but as human beings,” he mentioned “(…) We want all Quebecers to feel like they are at home and have services in the language that is most convenient for them.”
He added that the province needs to avoid implementing laws that force people working in government systems to serve people only in French and that the government simply should not go further with the bill.
He noted that the Climat Quebec will not “go to war” over Bill 96, but it may suggest modifications to certain elements of the bill.
“If you’re a Quebecer, you’re a Quebecer, you have the right to be served in your main language no matter where you are in the provincial territory, that’s what I want to say to the people,” said Quirion-Bouchard.
Listen to the full interview below: