Santa has been making his list and checking it twice, and Jean-Francois Lisée may have made it onto the naughty list.
Under the stewardship of its new leader, public support for the Parti Quebecois has fallen five points in one month according to the folks at CROP.
It’s a big deal, because new leaders are supposed to get big bounces in support even if it’s just for the novelty factor.
Something just isn’t connecting.
But the really big news is what’s on the minds of Quebec voters.
For the first time 70 percent of Quebecers reject sovereignty.
Think about it: seven out of ten Quebecers say they would vote No in another referendum.
Quebecers are less and less interested in language politics and the politics of division. The sovereignty project always has been insular and inward. Younger Quebecers are more open and connected to the world.
The PQ? it seems increasingly doomed to being the party of a single generation.
Formula E (for expensive)
Now this has the makings of something that may give you a run for your money.
Montreal is not content with hosting the annual Formula 1 over on Ile Notre Dame and the millions that event costs us in public money.
City hall is now bringing Formula E racing to the city.
These are battery powered cars that will whiz through a course in the eastern part of downtown Montreal at speeds of 200 kilometres per hour.
This week the city approved $16.5 million in contracts for fences and barriers on top of the $4.6 million that will go into street improvements to handle the cars.
So far, more than $20 million for a car race.
I hope I am proven wrong but I have the feeling that it’s just the beginning.
It seems in an election year, with hundreds of millions being spent for the 375th, money is no object.
Your money that is.
Formula E. E is for expensive. E is for election.
Right Turns On Red
The suburban mayors have it right. They are petitioning for right turns on reds on Montreal island.
We are not idiots. It is such an insult for the nanny state to tell us that we just aren’t good enough or smart enough to handle rights on reds.
There would be exceptions of course. No one is proposing allowing it at Peel and Ste. Catherine.
But the mayors say more than half of the island’s 2,500 intersections would be suitable for rights on reds.
It would save time, ease traffic, and cause less pollution.
It’s pretty much a no-brainer, but the most important mayor on the island isn’t buying it.
We can be trusted. It’s just the right thing to do.
Vaillancourt behind bars
Finally, this week, the self-styled King of Laval is going to prison.
Former mayor Gilles Vaillancourt has been sentenced to six years after pleading guilty to a variety of fraud charges.
He will also have to pay back $8.5 million that he skimmed from taxpayers during his long tenure as mayor.
You see, sometimes the bad guys don’t win. Sometimes the system works. Sometimes your faith is restored.
Sometimes Virginia there is a Santa Claus.
Merry Christmas, and Happy Hanukkah.
