QUEBEC - An arduous session of the National Assembly for the governing Liberal Party came to a close Friday, and while Premier Jean Charest was able to acknowledge the difficulties his government faced, he attempted to focus the attention on the positives.
Except not too many people were buying it, least of all the opposition Parti Québécois.
"Oh, it's been a tough session, hasn't been easy," Charest told reporters Friday as the legislature closed until February. "That's the session. But let me compartmentalize it. That's the session, and then there's the work done by the assembly, which is substantive, and remarkable."
Charest wanted to talk about successfully guiding the Quebec economy through the recession and passing laws on ethics for elected officials and political financing that bring "profound change." Charest said there has not been this kind of overhaul applied to political financing in the province since René Levesque first instituted a $3,000 donation limit for individuals in 1977, and that these new laws are stricter and more punitive than any other province in Canada.
But in spite of Charest's attempts to deflect attention, the dominant talk in Quebec City remains the festering issue of the construction industry's alleged links to both organized crime and lawmakers, and Charest's continued refusal to call a public inquiry.
"My government is not plagued by those allegations," Charest said in response to a reporter's question.
PQ Leader Pauline Marois would beg to differ.
"He's not able to understand, to accept the point of view of the population," Marois said during her own end-of-session news conference, which was essentially a 45-minute indictment of the Charest government. "And I think that's very bad for him."
But in spite of her sharp criticism, she said all can be quickly forgiven if Charest has a change of heart.
"There is a solution," Marois said. "It is to implement an inquiry into the construction industry."
This is just the latest example of a political climate in Quebec City that risks turning the population off politics altogether.
But Amir Khadir of Québec Solidaire does not feel that is the case.
"No, they're involved," Khadr said. "(The) cynicism is against those ruling elites, the ruling political parties."
After losing a seat in a key by-election in Kamouraska-Témiscouata two weeks ago, that ruling party will have a slim five-seat majority when the provincial legislature re-convenes in February.
