Tom Mulcair: Quebec liberals should let Anglade be Anglade

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With her leadership openly discussed, Dominique Anglade needed a break during last weekend’s Liberal Party convention. It came from an unexpected source. When the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) tweeted a childish admonition of “epic failure” against liberals for failing to debate language issues, it was as insignificant as it was welcomed by party apparatchiks.

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He may be cynical, but what could be better for a party that is often accused in the French-language media of being at the beck and call of Anglos, than to be attacked by those Angles themselves?

Of course, it would be giving the QCGN too much credit to say that they actually represent the English-speaking community of Quebec, but hey, they are all we have now.

The QCGN would somehow have us believe that the only party that has Anglos in its group, that has a history of working with the community, and that has reasoned opposition to key sections of Bill 96 is not doing anything useful! in the language file!

“Pousse mais pousse égal”, as my mother says. If you’re going to take those kinds of shots, it better have some meaning. Here, it was not like that and the little credibility that the QCGN had went out the window.

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Prime Minister François Legault recently criticized liberal MNA Greg Kelley after he called the CAQ in English, and somehow, are liberals the bad guys? What a joke!

Anglade is a very strong leader, but she will need all the help she can get if she is to achieve an unlikely victory against Legault next fall. Your chosen environment and inclusion themes are within your purview and you should be able to articulate a solid vision for real change.

Running a party that voters returned to opposition seats can be difficult.

I experienced a similar phase with Daniel Johnson Jr. as the leader. Despite his brilliance, experience and expertise, he never entered the public or his own group. It was a difficult race for him and he resigned before the 1998 elections to make room for Jean Charest, who lost the election.

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Anglade has also had some real problems with managing the caucus. Although the Marie Montpetit case still calls for some kind of fair outcome, Anglade showed real skill in escorting Gaétan Barrette to the exit ramp. There were no tears when he announced that he would not run again and there is enough time before the next election for Anglade to find a star candidate for his safe liberal leadership.

The Avenir Québec Coalition is not going to be easy prey in any archive, not even in the environment.

Anglade was setting key milestones with its hydrogen plan, announced over the weekend.

However, Legault’s highly trained Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonatan Julien, already has a well-reasoned plan to make Quebec a world leader in green hydrogen production. This truly clean replacement for fossil fuels is great hope for the future. Quebecers can be proud that the two main parties are promoting it. At the same time, the Liberals don’t get votes.

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When it comes to openness and inclusion, Anglade has an important role to play.

The daughter of political refugees (her father was imprisoned by the Duvalier regime in Haiti), Anglade has had to fight injustice all her life.

She has an inspiring story to tell, one that involves fighting for rights, for equality and against discrimination. Notably, he resigned from Legault’s CAQ over a minority rights issue.

You should bring that sacred fire to every political debate you have.

If liberals just let Anglade be Anglade, the next election could be about the kind of society we want Quebec to be: open and inclusive or increasingly parochial and closed-minded.

Tom Mulcair, a former leader of the federal NDP, served as Minister of the Environment in Jean Charest’s liberal Quebec government.