PQ still following 'the street': Bergman

By Joel Goldenberg, October 3rd, 2012

The new Parti Québécois government is still listening to “the street” in terms of following what vocal activists want, and not heeding the silent majority, D'Arcy McGee MNA Lawrence Bergman told the Côte St. Luc Senior Men's Club at the Aquatic and Community Centre last Thursday.
The “street” reference was used by the Liberals during the campaign to refer to the PQ's support of students who went on strike against university tuition increases.
During his speech, Bergman praised the values of the Liberal Party, pointed out the errors of the polls that had his party in third place before the election, and paid tribute to former Liberal Party leader Jean Charest as a “great man.”
Turning to the PQ government, Bergman said it is immediately evident that it “has decided to listen to the street” in cancelling the tuition hikes.
“It's well known that a great society is one that has strong universities, and they can only be strong if they're well financed,” he said. “They can bring in teachers, professors, research people from throughout the world. [Former Quebec premier] Lucien Bouchard has said, and he's so right, that the state must never cede to the street. He said that 'the minority marches, but the majority doesn't march.' When people are marching, you have to look behind them to see the great majority of the people and, in this election, two-thirds of Quebecers voted for the increase in school fees.”
Bergman added that, at the same time, the PQ maintained the Liberal increase of scholarships and loan programs.
“By doing this, it's like telling your grandson, I'll give you $10 if you wash the dishes, but when he doesn't wash them, you still give him the $10. How are we going to finance all this? It's you and I who will have to.”
The MNA also pointed out that the PQ abolished the $200-a-person health care contribution, and that the $1 billion loss of revenue will be made up by taxing retroactively those earning more than $130,000 a year.
“You can't have a society where you ask the rich to pay everything,” he said. “This amounts to 145,000 people. You can't take $1 billion paid for by five million taxpayers and say to the 145,000 'you'll pay for it.' It doesn't work.... This is not the moment to penalize people who work and invest in our economy -it's fragile enough as it is and we can't take a chance on slowing it down.”
Bergman, talking about the English-speaking community, said the Charest government had four anglophone ministers, including himself.
“This is not negligible - the Glen Yards project, the Jewish General Hospital [expansion], bridging schools - don't happen by accident,” he explained, adding that the ministers were also instrumental in resolving a problem involving children with learning disabilities.
Bergman added that Premier Pauline Marois may have said “a few condescending words” in English on election night, “but during the election campaign, she never spoke a word of English to the English-speaking community, except for answering a couple of journalists' questions in English in scrums.” He also found items in the PQ platform to be “blatantly” anti-English, including proposed changes to Bill 101.
“It's unbelievable she has subcontracted the English-speaking dossier to Jean-François Lisée, who was the architect of so many identity policies which would so badly affect the English community.”
Bergman also critiqued some of the PQ ministerial choices, saying none have a knowledge of the business community, the finance minister “never stepped out of universities in all of his career,” and the transport ministry “crucial to Montreal, goes to a minister who spent his whole life in the Saguenay.
“The cabinet of Madame Marois is socio-sovereignist. I pledge to you that we will be a strong opposition- we have tremendous experience. We have a team that is very competent and includes members who come from every segment of Quebec society who will protect your rights, the rights of all Quebecers and the people of D'Arcy McGee.”
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Before his speech, Bergman presented Côte St. Luc Senior Men's Club member Bill Taylor with a plaque naming him the club's Man of the Year. Taylor, 91, was honoured for his service to the club, including being program chairman for the past seven years, in charge of bringing in speakers and musical entertainment.n