Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) Premier Francois Legault and several prominent cabinet ministers were in Montreal on Sunday to unveil 13 candidates that will run in October's provincial election in and around the Island of Montreal.
All but two of the CAQ candidates are women and represent a diverse ticket on the island where the party won just two of 27 ridings in 2018.
"I am convinced that we are presenting talented people who will be able to quickly get to work to advance the major issues of the city, whether it be public transit, downtown revitalization or urban security, in addition to addressing the respective issues of their riding," said Legault.
The CAQ candidates are as follows:
- Rebecca McCann in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve
- Rosmeri Otoya Celis in Acadie
- Vicki Marcoux in Laurier-Dorion
- Junlian Leblanc in D'Arcy-McGee
- Florence Lavictoire in Mercier
- Aurélie Diep in Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques
- Loredana Bacchi in LaFontaine
- Absa Diallo as Bourassa-Sauvé
- Julie de Martino in Jeanne-Mance-Viger
- Nicolas Huard-Isabelle in Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne
- Maria Luisa Torres-Piaggio in Westmount-Saint-Louis
- Vicky Michaud in Marguerite-Bourgeoys
- Marc Baaklini in Marquette
PQ WANTS TO TRIPLE SENIOR CARE FUNDING
The Parti Quebecois (PQ) feels the province needs a real "kick in the pants" to change the way it cares for its seniors. The PQ is proposing, among other things, to triple the supply of home care.
The political party, led by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, is categorical: the system put in place by the Coalition Avenir Québec of Francois Legault, which relies on the construction of seniors' homes, will not work.
The PQ said that it is much more important to improve the home-care offer, since "that is what people want."
In its "Living and Aging with Dignity" plan, presented Sunday in Montreal, the PQ promised to invest $2.7 billion a year in home-care if it forms the next government after the general election next October.
Plamondon believes that the proportion of public spending on long-term care that is earmarked for home care is "abnormally low" and that it should be"at least 50 per cent," a target that would be met with his party's election promise.
The PQ commitment is part of the first axis of its plan, named "Living and aging at home." The other three axes of the plan focus on social mixing, impoverishment and seniors' rights.
The PQ has also committed to launching an independent public inquiry into the crisis in CHSLDs during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic within 100 days of its election.
Plamondon also wants to create a Ministry of Loneliness -- which would be responsible for developing public policies to address isolation, loneliness and emotional distress -- while facilitating the participation of seniors in economic and cultural society.
-- with files from The Canadian Press.
