I got another email from Pat Valois, who became Option Nationale’s candidate in Marquette region on August 6. Valois wanted to answer some of the questions he’s faced since the campaign began. He also sent me a new photograph, as above.
Regionally and in my riding of Marquette, my three main priorities are environment, collective transportation and collective involvement in democracy.
I want to encourage development of environmental initiatives, revitalization of abandoned places, green roofs, green walls, installation of some recharging terminals for electric cars, investments in new technologies for energy efficiency to be integrated easily in citizens homes and so forth…
In regards to public transportation, I think that it’s obvious to extend metro lines to cover the west island and/or for to extend the urban train line to reach key points. (We can think about creating an electric train industry down here in Lachine-Dorval.)
We have to encourage car-sharing, cycling too … while staying open for recommendations from our citizens about ways to optimize what we already have in terms of infrastructure.
In terms of participatory democracy, I want to create a platform for citizens to ask questions and discuss their preoccupations directly with their elected representatives. I think that in 2012 people are ready for more participatory democracy. We can create a social aggregation system of some sort where people may ask and vote for their top priorities and where the deputy and his team have an obligation to respond. Elected representatives have to be held accountable for obligations to citizens.
In terms of a national standpoint, yes, we are a sovereignist party, but we believe in a optimal, modern and realistic way of reaching our goal. We know that without our English native community and without immigrants supporting this project, it will go nowhere. This is why the first thing we want to do is to get everybody together in order to write a constitution for Quebec. Rights of English natives will be preserved and they will have rights to negotiate, to make their voices heard in every discussions concerning the future of Quebec, based on the constitution that we will write together. There will be no exclusion, no second rate citizens. We believe in sovereignty because we think that it’s more viable from an economical, ecological and cultural standpoint. English native’s in Quebec share more preoccupations (environment, education, development) with French Quebecers than people in the rest of Canada, so we don’t see any problem from a cultural standpoint. We are allies in a vast majority of domains and we think that disputes based on a 254-year-old story really have to stop.
We want to unite to enhance our collective consciousness and increase the wealth on the territory of Quebec and we believe that together we will be able to do it.
I said it before, all the English community would be included in our constitutional project and will a have a place at the negotiation table.
Also, I encourage English voters to vote for us, even as a protest vote and even if they are not 100% sure about sovereignty right now, because it would be a vote for the creation of a constitution of Quebec while doubling as a protest against the Liberal (and CAQ) lack of creativity.
Voting for us is not directly a vote for a referendum (even if sovereignty is the main goal), because as I said, we will talk a lot before that point and If you disagree about our constitution afterwards, you can always vote against it.
Valois’s answers to my previous questions are:
1. Are you participating in local events between now and August 22?
I’ll probably be at the “mardi cycliste” of the 14, and I’ll surely be at “les fêtes de Lachine”.”
AND : I plan to create a calendar on the Facebook page or something with all the events.
So even if there is nothing when they go to the page, people should “like” the page to be advised when events will appear.”
2. How will you connect with voters in Marquette in the next few weeks?
I want to be in public places, crowded places, walking the street a little. I would like to go in nursing homes, CEGEP, cafes, etc. Also there is a new Facebook page, which is not that completed and populated right now (created yesterday), but that you can talk about, it’s : www.facebook.com/ONMarquette . Also associated with that page, we have an email address at which citizens can communicate DIRECTLY with me so that they can send questions, comments, concerns, etc. It’s : ONMarquette@gmail.com
I am also a part of the CREON (comité des relations ethnoculturelles d’Option national) which is responsible of listening to preoccupations of immigrants and to include them in the project of sovereignty. So I’ll probably look for some ethnocultural events too!”
3. Will you be participating in local debates? If so, when?
I don’t had any offers right now and I clearly don’t have the time to organize that in the first week of my candidature. But, I have debates with citizens daily :)”
4. Can you outline some of the major local issues?
Environmental issues in general and standard of living. I am not an expert on every subject concerning Lachine or Dorval but I surely want to talk about living standards and the development of industries and technology in harmony with the environment. (I am a geek, an eco concerned geek). But most of all : quality of living! There’s a lot of social work in that area and I am a guy that really care about quality of living. Having big salaries is one thing, but it’s an illusion to believe in that way (American dream) in a global perspective (and, half of the population have low salaries). I think that we have to work together for a better world, a better social justice, for more possibilities and freedom. I think that the major point about me is my pragmatic type of mind and my respect for the work of others. I will never ditch a study because it would be against something I’ve said. I would, at the opposite, include it and work with it. This is how I think in terms of work and also as an individual.
An other issue that I care is : citizen participation. I don’t think that referendum of popular initiative are enough! I would like to develop a computer system so that people can give me specific task and workload. Also this is not what Leo Bureau Blouin from the PQ was talking about, one hour session chatting with our citizens is certainly sweet, I would maybe do it too… But for my part, I want a structure that clearly defines what people want. In a way, I want to create a social aggregation system for citizens where they define their desires themselves and where elected people have an OBLIGATION to answer and work with them. Not knowing everything about Marquette is not an obstacle for me because I want to work actively with Marquette’s citizens, which is, in a way, something new! Marquette has a good deputy, even if he’s a liberal… (just kidding) But the problem with the older ways of doing politics is that citizens are not really included. So sometimes choices of priorities are not respected and some subjects are subjectively repelled. I want to create something to avoid that and to give to citizens the keys for their own success. I want to create a feeling of community between French and English people and between every nationalities in the district. I want to create a point of reunion where I see a lack of it. We need to work together!
(Relation with immigrants are in my top priorities too!)”
