By Raymond Viger
Are Quebec and Canada really places where democracy can be exercised while citizens’ rights are respected? When a majority government is elected, can it do whatever it wants for four years while we pay the price?
Does the duty of elected representatives to toe the party line prevent them from voting with their conscience? To better understand the political world we currently find ourselves in, Reflet de Société met with Louise Harel, a political woman who has dedicated her life to provincial and municipal politics: elected for 27 years as a representative in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Minister of Immigration, Municipal Affairs, etc.…
Louise Harel frames the situation as follows: “In 1961, Claire Kirkland-Casgrain was the first woman elected to the Quebec National Assembly. It took half a century for the gender balance between men and women to reach close to parity in the legislature. In 2018 it was 42.4%, and in 2022, it was 46.4%.”
“In general, women in politics are better at assessing issues based on the merits of each issue, based on the objectives being sought, and less based on power plays. They will try to convince rather than coerce.”
“The party line is like any other tool that can be used for better or for worse. Laws concerning the emancipation of women benefitted from the party line. Without it, those bills could possibly have died on the order paper.”
“We’re talking about laws that are important for women’s equality, like laws on the collection of alimony, the division of family assets, and pay equity…”
“The party line was useful in enacting those laws that would not have passed without the duty to vote along party lines. It also allows for deals to be struck between parties to finalize more sensible laws, like medically assisted dying.”
“The party line allowed for the adoption of progressive laws, just as it was once a brake on the recognition of women’s right to vote.”
As seen in Reflet de Société, No. 33-1, septembre-octobre (September-October) 2024, pages 16-17.
Leave a Reply