QS elected officials confident of undertaking the “pragmatic” shift of GND, despite dissensions

Photo: Karoline Boucher The Canadian Press The co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois

The “pragmatic” shift proposed by Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois will be tested by internal dissensions within the party, but is not threatened, according to deputies of the formation.

The solidarity elected officials drank their coffee Thursday morning while accepting harsh words from around forty members, ex-candidates – including former MP Catherine Dorion. In an open letter, they sharply criticize the “fearful left” put forward by “GND” and accuse it of avoiding answering questions about “the concentration of power in the hands of those close to it and the exodus of women linked to an unhealthy climate.”

The male co-spokesperson of QS was not at the National Assembly on Thursday. Approached at the start of the question period, his former sidekick, Manon Massé, wanted to put the exit of this group into perspective. “Gabriel, last week, started a debate. And there, when you launch a debate, it explodes everywhere and it's healthy,” she said, Thursday.

The elected representative of Sainte- Marie–Saint-Jacques will support the Saguenay Declaration, put into play by the leadership of Québec solidaire so that the party becomes “a government party”. On Thursday, she also recalled that the document was the fruit of work carried out with the members, not against them.

“The Saguenay Declaration is a synthesis of what we heard,” she noted. “I invite our members who find that this is not quite how they experienced it when we passed through their region, to come and tell us. »

“Catherine Dorion and her supporters”

At a press conference, On Thursday morning, Solidarity parliamentary leader Alexandre Leduc said he was “confident” of adopting the Declaration, despite the criticism in the letter. After all, the missive from “Catherine Dorion and her supporters” does not directly address the document which will be put to a vote in two weeks, at the party's national council.

“[Ms. Dorion] had things to say about Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois that we all understood. This is not big news considering the book we all read a few weeks ago,” he emphasized in English.

“But the question is whether we’re going to open up and revisit our program. That's the real debate. I did not see any strong positions on this in the letter,” he continued.

The Declaration “is not something that Gabriel came out of his hat last week,” underlined Mr. Leduc.

“This is a question that had been requested by the political committee for a long time. “That was something that was at stake during the women’s spokesperson race… revising our agenda,” he recalled. “That means it’s not a debate that appeared suddenly. »

At his side, deputy Alejandra Zaga Mendez, former president of the party, agreed that the current crisis in the party was unprecedented. “It’s the first time we’ve experienced this at Québec Solidaire, in this way,” she said.

But the national council in May will be an opportunity to debate eye to eye, she said. “It has always been like that in Québec solidaire and in politics,” underlined Ms. Zaga Mendez, while inviting the signatories of the letter to come and debate in Jonquière.

Dissensions at QS

The position of “pragmatism” promoted by Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is not unanimous within the solidarity caucus. Last week, MP Vincent Marissal asked his spokesperson to explain his position. In a message on Facebook, MP Sol Zanetti expressed some unease.

“The word pragmatic has negative connotations for part of the left. I don’t want to use that term to define myself, but at the same time, I also don’t want to reject it,” he wrote. Mr. Zanetti did not speak to the media on Thursday, despite several members of his constituency's coordination committee having signed the open letter.

Dissensions shake Québec solidaire since the surprise departure of the female co-spokesperson elected last fall, Émilise Lessard-Therrien. In her departure message, she deplored the influence of “a small team of professionals woven tightly around the male spokesperson.”