Jean-Yves Duclos

Quebec City native, astronaut Marc Garneau dies at 76

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Quebec City native, astronaut Marc Garneau dies at 76

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

Quebec City native, former cabinet minister and Canadian space pioneer Marc Garneau died on June 4. He was 76.

Marc Roy, Garneau’s former communications director, shared a brief statement from Garneau’s wife, Pamela Garneau, announcing the news.

“Marc faced his final days with the same strength, clarity and grace that defined his life. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by the love of his family,” Pamela Garneau wrote. “We are especially grateful to the medical team which provided such dedicated and compassionate care during his short illness.”

Garneau was born in Quebec City in 1949 – “in the old Jeffery Hale Hospital, the one in Vieux- Québec,” as he recounted to CBC’s Alison Brunette during the 2023 Literary Feast at the Morrin Centre. When he was a child, his family moved frequently due to his father’s military career. He studied engineering at the Royal Military College before completing a PhD at the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, England, and joining the Navy as a combat systems engineer. In 1983, he was named one of Canada’s first six astronauts. The following year, aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, he became the first Canadian in space.

“Take me back to that moment, you’re sitting there – 10, nine, eight … what’s going through your mind?” Brunette asked Garneau at the Literary Feast.

“If you imagine yourselves tipped over backward looking at the ceiling, that’s what your seat is like,” Garneau said as guests tipped their heads back. “There are people who sit you in your seat … and connect your radio, your oxygen, so you’re ready to go. Then they say good luck and close the hatch … You’re left there for two and a half hours before launch, the longest two and a half hours of your life. A lot of things go through your mind – do I really want to do this? Am I ready? … You realize you are ready, and you’re going to live something that very few people have ever experienced.

“When you see the entire planet, your perspective starts to change,” he said. “You see that this planet is the cradle of humanity … there’s nowhere else to go, and we have to find a way to get along with each other.”

The Challenger mission was the first of Garneau’s three trips to space. In 2001, he was named president of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).

Garneau resigned from the CSA to run for Parliament as a Liberal in 2006. He lost on that first attempt, but won comfortably in Westmount–Saint Louis on his second try in 2008. His engineer’s directness and attention to detail made him popular with journalists and colleagues. He ran for the Liberal leadership in 2013 before throwing his support behind Justin Trudeau. Trudeau named him transport minister in his first cabinet, later promoting him to foreign affairs. He resigned in March 2023; at the time, he said he had promised his family he would step down after the joint committee on medical assistance in dying, on which he sat, had tabled its final report.

In retirement, he wrote an autobiography, A Most Extraordinary Ride: Space, Politics and the Pursuit of a Canadian Dream. One of his last public appearances was at the Morrin Centre, during this year’s Imagination Writers’ Festival, promoting the book.

Barry McCullough, executive director of the Morrin Centre, described his death from cancer as a “huge shock.”

“He was interesting and interested,” McCullough remembered. “He seemed like a really genuine person, and he had a lot of curiosity, which would be a good quality for an astronaut. He was born in Quebec City, went off and did all kinds of things, and then came back and connected with the English-speaking community, which is cool, because he has lived in both languages so he’s a really good spokesperson for bilingualism.”

Local Liberal MPs Jean-Yves Duclos and Joël Lightbound served alongside Garneau in Parliament. Lightbound called his passing “an immense loss for Canada.”

“I owe a lot to Marc,” Duclos wrote in a social media post. “He generously offered me his mentorship when I first became an MP. I will always remember his intelligence, his sense of duty and respect, and his commitment to his family. He repeatedly expressed to me his pride in being from the Quebec City region – a region whose interests he always helped me defend.”

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Duclos attends fish ecology talk by B.C. exchange student at QHS

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Duclos attends fish ecology talk by B.C. exchange student at QHS

Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

cassandra@qctonline.com

Ava Zielinski, a visiting student at Quebec High School (QHS) from Hornby Island, B.C., gave a memorable presentation in front of fellow students and Québec-Centre MP Jean-Yves Duclos to raise awareness of the devastating impacts of overfishing on Pacific herring stocks.

QHS participates annually in the YMCA Student Exchange Program supported by Heritage Canada. This year, they partnered with Hornby Island Community School (HICS), on Hornby Island, off the east coast of Vancouver Island. Twenty QHS students travelled to Hornby Island from March 3 to 10, while 10 HICS students visited Quebec City from May 1 to 8. During this visit, Zielinski, whose father is a sea captain, gave a presentation about the Pacific fishing industry.

The Pacific herring is a small silvery fish, measuring on average 33 cm in length and weighing about 405 grams. The herring has been fished for centuries by the Japanese and Pacific Coast Indigenous people for its roe, oils and meat. It spawns in estuaries and coves, like those found along the Georgia Strait be- tween Vancouver Island and mainland British Columbia.

“Being a visitor from the traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation, I would like to start my presentation by acknowledging that we are on the unceded territory of the Wendat First Nation,” said Zielinski. “Hornby Island is one of the few remaining and largest places where the Pacific herring still spawn.” She then displayed a time-lapse map of the Georgia Strait, showing the rapid decrease of spawning zones. In early March, the dark turquoise waters of the strait transform into milky turquoise as over six million eggs per square metre are laid, attract- ing various species of whales, birds and mammals. As a result, only two of the 20,000 eggs laid by each female Pacific herring make it to adulthood. Hornby Island holds an annual Herring Fest to celebrate this natural phenomenon; the most recent edition, the ninth, ran from March 13-15.

Since the early 17th century, the roe of the Pacific herring has been a highly popular delicacy in Japan. Due to overfish- ing in the 1950s, the industry collapsed in Asia, creating opportunities for B.C. fishing families, like the Zielinskis, to make a living. “There are some intensive industrial fisheries for herring on Canada’s west coast,” said Zielinski. “These are very wasteful fisheries. They catch thousands of tons of herring, but only a small amount for human use. Most are used for pet food, fish farm food and garden fertilizer. There are other less wasteful ways to get the roe, including traditional First Nations ways, like letting herring spawn on kelp or tree branches.

“There may be concern that pausing the herring fishery will cause people to lose their jobs,” said Zielinski. “Many jobs depend on healthy herring populations, like other commercial fisheries, sport fishing and tourism. So you could say that protecting herring protects jobs.” She continued, “Our big ask is to help us pause the industrial Pacific herring fisheries to allow its populations to rebuild. Please help us advocate for our cause to the federal Fisheries, Oceans and Coast Guard minister, Joanne Thompson. I also encourage you to speak to my Member of Parliament, Gord Johns.”

Following the presentation, Duclos congratulated Zielinski for her work and her courage.

He then turned to the students to ask for their input and solutions. They mentioned that fish harvesters may be able to rotate their fishing zone from year to year, establish a weight limit or find less wasteful ways of fishing. They also spoke about developing different industries like tourism, to allow the community to thrive.

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Duclos, Deltell clash over tramway, third link in local debate

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Duclos, Deltell clash over tramway, third link in local debate

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

The future of Quebec City’s transit was a flash- point between Liberal and Conservative candidates in a debate on local issues organized by Radio-Canada on April 15.

With Téléjournal host Bruno Savard serving as moderator, the debate was a 45-minute exchange between Liberal incumbent for Québec-Centre Jean-Yves Duclos, Bloc Québécois challenger Simon Bérubé, New Democrat Tommy Bureau, running for the third time in the downtown riding, and Conservative Gérard Deltell, the incumbent MP for the Louis- Saint-Laurent–Akiawenhrahk riding.

Deltell represented the Conservatives in the absence of a candidate for the party in Québec-Centre. The intended candidate, Chanie Thériault, had been disqualified for not having filed required documents on time.

The debate was divided into two themes: the economy and mobility. A third segment at the end of the debate featured recorded questions from voters.

While there was a certain amount of back-and-forth about the financing and building of housing in the city, the debate over the two major transit projects in the works – the tramway and the third link – generated sharp confrontations between Duclos and Deltell, both veteran MPs first elected in 2015.

The showdown started with a question from Savard to Duclos, asking whether the federal government was prepared to pay 40 per cent of the cost of the tramway as the Quebec government expects, and, also, if Ottawa is an “ally” of the project, why the $1.5 billion it promised for the tramway was not made official before the election was called.

Duclos responded by listing the economic benefits of the tramway, including an estimated 20,000 construction jobs and stimulated investments of $500 million a year. He then challenged Deltell to answer whether a Conservative government would cancel Montreal’s blue line Metro project like leader Pierre Poilievre said he would do for Quebec City’s tramway.

Duclos said Poilievre wants to take the money for Quebec City’s project and invest in transit in his hometown of Calgary.

Savard then asked Deltell what the Conservatives would propose instead of a “structured” transit system for Quebec City. Deltell said the tramway does not have social acceptance, while the third link bridge project between Quebec City and Lévis does.

Deltell said to Duclos, “I find it really unfortunate that you keep repeating, repeating, repeating a lie. The $1.4 billion will stay in Quebec; is that clear? In Quebec, when Mr. Duclos says that he [Poilievre] is going to steal it from us, that’s a lie.”

When asked about the tramway, Bloc candidate Bérubé said, “There is a bad habit of both parties, which is to interfere in mobility projects here in Quebec. When Quebec decides to move forward with a project, the federal government’s role is simply to provide the money, without interfering in the design or form of the project.”

When Savard later asked whether Duclos supported the third link project, the Liberal MP opted to mention that a $3-billion fund would be available from the federal government to provide additional support for the tramway.

In an ensuing exchange with Deltell, the Conservative asked Duclos why he supports a project the people don’t want.

He then challenged the former minister to declare whether he supported the third link project. “I know you were a political lieutenant in Quebec, but [Liberal Leader] Mr. [Mark] Carney kicked you out. You’re a Quebec MP. Are you for or against the third link? It’s not a venereal disease; are you for or against? Duclos replied that federal funding depends on whether there is a public transit component to the bridge, but the Quebec government has not yet provided “a plan, a route nor a budget.”

The NDP’s Bureau said, regarding the tramway, “The money [from the federal government] should have been giv- en a long time ago to Quebec, which wants this project. And as for Mr. Deltell, I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do with the $1.4 billion. I’m expecting reserved lanes for F150s [pickup trucks].”

In the section for questions from the public via video, Sandra Nodari, a Brazilian immigrant and postdoctoral student at UQAM, asked the candidates how they would “address immigration issues without causing hardship for immigrants who are already well-established in housing, working and doing well?”

Duclos said, “Immigration is good for Quebec, it’s good for Canada; our diversity is a source of strength and pride. … We need to better recognize their expertise, including in health, but that’s done with the Quebec government. It’s not the federal government that will decide these things. The same goes for integration and francisation.”

Deltell, who noted he is the son of immigrants, said, “We currently have 20,000 doctors from abroad who are not yet recognized, and 30,000 nurses. We need this staff. We need all this talent that will meet our needs … We are committed to accelerating the process to en- able successful immigration.”

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Local Liberal MPs absent from Carney cabinet

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Local Liberal MPs absent from Carney cabinet

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

As Prime Minister Mark Carney and the 23 ministers of his Cabinet were sworn in at Rideau Hall on March 14, several faces and portfolios were noticeably absent. Former public services and procurement minister and MP for Québec Jean-Yves Duclos and former fisheries minister and Gaspésie–Îles- de-la-Madeleine MP Diane LeBouthiller, both of whom had served continuously in outgoing prime minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet since 2015, were not part of Carney’s cabinet; of the seven Quebecers in Carney’s cabinet, none was from a riding east of Montreal. The official languages; seniors; women, gender equality and youth; labour and regional economic development port- folios were among those that went unfilled or were consolidated into other ministries.

In a brief address to reporters, Carney said his slimmed- down cabinet would “focus on the essentials and focus on action to [address] challenges which we face … changing the way we work so we can deliver better results faster.” He said the “smaller but more experienced team” of ministers was “made to meet the moment we were in.”

Opposition leaders were quick to spotlight what they saw as omissions in Carney’s cabinet. Conservative Lead- er Pierre Poilievre and Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet criticized the lack of eastern Quebec representation, presenting it as an indication of lack of respect for francophones. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh, for his part, said the lack of ministers for women and gender equality, youth and labour sent the message that issues important for women, minorities and workers “didn’t matter” to the Carney government. “His plan is to ignore the plight of working people … to cut services and cut workers, which is not the right plan for Canadians,” he said.

Louis-Hébert Liberal MP Joël Lightbound, who was named parliamentary secretary to the minister of public safety and emergency preparedness before a public disagreement with Trudeau over COVID policy in 2022 cost him his Cabinet seat, said he understood Carney’s desire for a smaller Cabinet.

“I understand the desire for Mr. Carney to have a very lean cabinet focused on the challenges that we’re facing and have a clear and sharp focus on how we build resilience,” Lightbound told the QCT. “This a special circumstance given that we are heading into an election, probably in the next few days.

“I’m very honoured to have worked with Mr. [Jean-Yves] Duclos. I’m proud of the work he has done over the years and I’m not worried about the weight of Quebec City in the Carney government,” said Lightbound. “The two of us, the two Liberal MPs [in the region] for the last 10 years, we have done a lot more than Conservative ministers in the region have done in the previous decade, and certainly more than the Bloc have done.” Lightbound highlighted the federal government’s preservation of the Quebec Bridge and the inclusion of the Davie Shipyard in Lévis in the long-term naval strategy as achievements he was particularly proud of.

Both Duclos, who could not immediately be reached for comment, and Lightbound have announced their intention to run again in the upcoming election, widely expected to take place this spring.

“We want to make sure that the government is there to finance the TramCité project [and] to fund research at Université Laval in my riding,” Lightbound said. “Top of mind for me will be to make sure we are smart in the way we address tariffs, so Quebec entrepreneurs and jobs are protected.”

Lightbound said he was “really looking forward” to working with Carney and his appointees. “He is the right person at the right time for this extraordinary junction in our country’s history,” he concluded.

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Few party candidates nominated in city as federal election looms

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Few party candidates nominated in city as federal election looms

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

With a federal election call expected sometime soon, only the Bloc Québécois has candidates nominated in all seven ridings in the Quebec City region.

The Bloc, with leader Yves- François Blanchet in attendance, introduced its slate at a news conference in the city on March 13.

In addition to its two incumbent MPs – Caroline Desbiens in Montmorency-Charlevoix and Julie Vignola in Beauport- Limoilou – the Bloc has nominated Simon Bérubé in the riding of Québec-Centre (formerly Québec), Christian Hébert in Portneuf–Jacques-Cartier, Valérie Savard in Louis-Hébert, Bladimir Labonite Infante in Charlesbourg–Haute-Sainte-Charles, and Martin Trudel in Louis-Saint-Laurent–Akiawenhrahk.

That latter riding is one of several in the country whose name has been changed to reflect Indigenous heritage.

Conservatives hold three seats in the region, and all three incumbent MPs are nominated to run again: Pierre Paul-Hus, the Quebec lieutenant of leader Pierre Poilievre, in Charlesbourg–Haute-Saint- Charles; Gérard Deltell in Louis-Saint-Laurent–Akiawenhrahk; and Joël Godin in Portneuf–Jacques-Cartier.

According to the party website, no other candidates have been nominated. Paul-Hus’s office had not returned a call by press time.

The Liberals are only slightly more advanced in finding and nominating candidates. The two incumbents are running again: Jean-Yves Duclos, recently excluded from Prime Minister Mark Carney’s slimmed-down cabinet, in Québec-Centre; and Joël Lightbound in Louis-Hébert.

The only other nominated candidate for the Liberals as of late last week was Denise Coulonval in Beauport-Limoilou. The seat has seen close three- way races between the Bloc, Conservatives and Liberals over the past three elections (2015, 2029, 2021).

A Liberal party official who asked to remain anonymous said there has been an increased interest in Quebec from potential candidates now that Mark Carney is leader and prime minister.

The New Democratic Party, which swept most ridings in the city in the “Orange Wave” of 2011, has nominated two candidates so far, both repeat candidates. Former Beauport- Limoilou MP Raymond Coté is making his second attempt since the 2015 election to recapture the riding. Tommy Bureau is running for a third time in Québec-Centre, after coming fourth in 2021 and 2019. The NDP won the seat in the 2011 election, ending the Bloc’s Christiane Gagnon’s 18-year hold on the downtown riding.

Maxime Bernier’s People’s Party of Canada has no seats in Parliament, but it has can- didates nominated in five of the seven ridings in the region. The Green Party, which has yet to elect a candidate in Quebec, has so far nominated candidates in three area ridings.

On the South Shore, Conservative incumbent Jacques Gourde and Liberal challenger Ghislain Daigle are nominated in Lévis-Lotbinière. In Bellechasse–Les-Etchemins–Lévis, Conservative MP Dominique Vien is nominated, as is Marie-Philippe Gagnon- Gauthier for the NDP.

Few party candidates nominated in city as federal election looms Read More »

Mary Gillespie House purchased for English-speaking community

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Mary Gillespie House purchased for the English-speaking community

Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

cassandra@qctonline.com

The historic Mary Gillespie House in Sainte-Foy has been purchased for the use of the local English-speak- ing community. By next year, it will open as a multipurpose venue, thanks in part to the $1.5-million contribution from Canadian Heritage through the Community Spaces Fund program for official-language minority communities. Federal Minister for Public Services and Procurement and MP for Québec Jean-Yves Duclos announced the funding arrangement on Feb. 3.

“This project started with a young individual who saw the potential in this house in July 2023,” said Jean Robert, presi- dent of Jeffery Hale Community Partners. “From there, our staff got involved. The boards of two of our community foundations, architects, lawyers and the staff at Canadian Heritage had the same goal: an inclusive multipurpose space for the community.”

Robert affirmed that Mary Gillespie House will be trans- formed for the English-speaking community by next year, if all goes according to plan. “It will provide an inclusive space for cultural preservation, col- laboration and connection,” said Robert. “It will become a vibrant hub of services and ac- tivities for the English-speaking

community for years to come, promoting a sense of belonging for its members and helping to ensure its long-term vitality.”

“The English-speaking com- munity has been present in Quebec City for over 265 years. This is a lot of years and hard and heavy work with great suc- cess,” said Duclos. “Here, we have an example of a heritage home that will last and be preserved for its beauty and be used for the benefit of our English-speaking community. When we are diverse, we are more proud.”

“The Mary Gillespie House is in my riding, and I’m de- lighted that our government is investing in this community space for the people of Quebec City. I hope that Louis-Hébert

residents will be able to come together and build relation- ships in this magnificent and historic Sainte-Foy building,” said Louis-Hébert MP Joël Lightbound. “This is good for the community. It is not the biggest community, but it is strong, vibrant, and has deep roots. I am very happy that this space will bring the community together.”

According to the Ville de Québec register of historic buildings, the house was built between 1860 and 1867. Its first resident-owner appears to have been Mary Gillespie (1840-1935), widow of mer- chant James Hewitt and sister of James Gillespie, who owned Maple Cottage, formerly located on Chemin des Quatre-Bourgeois. The residence remained in the Hewitt family for almost 30 years.

The house is located at 819 Ave. Moreau in Sainte-Foy. It is a 1.5-storey farmhouse situated on a large lot. The majority of its historical components, including wooden windows, dormers, doors and floors, a metal roof, a covered gallery on three sides and chimneys at each end, have been maintained. Since the front lot was sold for a commercial building on Chemin Sainte-Foy, the original main entrance faces the back of that building rather than Avenue Moreau. 

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Jean-Yves Duclos backs Mark Carney for federal Liberal leader

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Jean-Yves Duclos backs Mark Carney for federal Liberal leader

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Federal Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney has landed the support of Jean-Yves Duclos, a key Quebec minister in the government of departing prime minister Justin Trudeau.

Duclos declared his support for Carney on Feb. 7 and hosted him for a series of events in Quebec City, including a meeting with Bonhomme Carnaval. Carney also met with Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand. Duclos, the minister of public services and procurement and MP for Québec, offered his support via an open letter, the same forum he used two weeks ago to invite all candidates to submit platforms.

Duclos applauded Carney’s response to his letter, and noted his experience in dealing with financial crises “has clearly demonstrated your leadership and partnership capabilities.”

The minister also praised Carney’s “commitment to the protection of the French lan- guage, the arts and culture, and promoting a strong voice for Quebec [which] will help strengthen our country in these turbulent times.”

Duclos also noted that both he and Carney “are economists, not politicians.”

As of this writing, five candidates remain in the leadership race: Carney, former finance minister and deputy prime minister Chrystia Freeland, for- mer minister and House leader Karina Gould, former Montreal MP Frank Baylis and former Toronto-area MP Ruby Dhalla.

The Liberal Party of Canada has set the dates for candidate debates, on Feb. 24 in French and Feb. 25 in English, both to take place in Montreal. Carney, Duclos and Louis-Hébert MP Joël Lightbound – who was one of Carney’s earliest caucus supporters – met with local Liberals at a pub in Place Ste-Foy on Friday evening. Innovation and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne, who gave Carney a tour of Shawinigan the week before, was also in attendance.

In a scrum with reporters beforehand, Carney said he had been meeting with local chambers of commerce to learn firsthand about local concerns. He said he supported the city’s tramway project as an example of investing in the future. In local interviews the next day, the former governor of the Bank of Canada and the Bank of England said he found the “third link” project championed by the Quebec government “interesting” but would not commit to a federal contribution without knowing more about the details of the plan or its cost.

Carney said in the face of American threats to Canada’s economy, “what we need to do is work as a team with all levels of government across Canada.

“I am very encouraged by the resolve Canadians are showing. They want to be positive, they want to be united, they want to move forward, they don’t want division. They’ve had enough of insults. And what we’re offering is that positivity, that sense of action.”

Carney said, “We’re in a crisis, but it’s a massive opportunity.” Picking up a slogan from the Quebec Liberals of the 1960s, Carney said Canadians are “masters of their own house.”

The QCT asked Carney to update his comment on Jon Stewart’s The Daily Show on Jan. 13, prior to jumping into the race, that the Liberals “have a chance” of winning the next election.

Carney said, “We have a very good chance. Given the stakes, given the team we have, given the capabilities of the Liberal Party in addressing this crisis, in building our economy and as well, above all, given the values of the Liberal Party and the importance we place on solidarity, in helping the vulnerable in our society, on building a sustainable economy. We not just can win, we must win and we will win.”

The new leader of the Liberal Party is to be chosen on March 9 by a vote of registered members. Whoever wins automatically succeeds Trudeau as prime minister.

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Duclos offers suggestions for Liberal leadership candidates

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Duclos offers ‘suggestions’ to Liberal leadership candidates

Peter Black

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Senior Liberal minister Jean-Yves Duclos is not endorsing a candidate in the race to replace Justin Trudeau (and potentially become prime minister) until he sees what’s in their platforms. In the meantime, he’s offering up some suggestions for those platforms.

Duclos, the MP for the downtown riding of Québec and minister of public services and procurement, posted an open letter to the five officially confirmed candidates on Jan. 27, titled “The challenges we face.”

Those candidates are former Montreal-area MP Frank Baylis, former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, former Brampton MP Ruby Dhalla, former finance minister and current Toronto-area MP Chrystia Freeland and Toronto-area MP and former minister Karina Gould.

Duclos, a former professor of economics at Université Laval, was first elected in the Liberal wave of 2015 and kept his seat in the two subsequent elections that produced minorities. He served as minister of families, children and social development, Treasury Board president and health minister before taking on his current portfolio.

This past fall, he became Quebec lieutenant for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau when Pablo Rodriguez decided to jump into the Quebec Liberal Party race.

In his message, Duclos offers the candidates “some suggestions to help you build your political platform. I particularly emphasize the place of Quebec and Quebecers in this platform. A strong Canada needs a strong Quebec.”

Duclos applauds the Liberal government’s efforts since 2015, “helping middle-class families, reducing poverty, investing in our infrastructure and building an economy that works for everyone by fighting inequality and protecting our environment.”

But, he writes, “The challenges of 2015 are no longer the same as those of 2025.

“With the rise of populism and the politics of insult and chaos that are hurting the middle class and our world, here in Canada and around the world, we need to do more and differently,” Duclos writes. 

The minister said, “Leadership contestants will be required to demonstrate proficiency in both official languages. It is a question of respect and values.” Of the five candidates, four are functionally bilingual: Baylis, Carney, Freeland and Gould.

“We must defend the ability of Quebecers to strengthen the Canadian federation and take seriously the threat posed by forces that want to separate Quebec from Canada,” Duclos writes. 

Duclos also sets a contentious test in asking candidates to “take into account the particularities of the Quebec nation, recognize the decline of French in Quebec and elsewhere in the country and ensure the sustainability of francophone communities across the country.”

While Duclos is waiting for candidates to reveal what specifics they stand for before picking a favourite, other Quebec ministers have been less hesitant. Carney already sewed up endorsements from Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne and Employment Minister Steven MacKinnon.

Freeland has the backing of Fisheries Minister Diane LeBouthillier and Quebec MPs Alexandra Mendes and Anthony Housefather.

Among other items in Duclos’s candidate to-do list are investments in public transit, including Quebec City’s tramway and the high-speed rail project between Quebec City and Toronto “in the first phase.”

Among other issues Duclos raised in his letter was the trade war provoked by U.S. President Donald Trump. “We must stand up and ensure the 

protection of middle-class families, including farm families who are at the heart of the development and vitality of our rural communities. In doing so, we will need to protect supply management across the country, as was the case with the renegotiation of NAFTA during President Trump’s first term.”

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Federal Liberal leadership hopefuls court minister Jean-Yves Duclos

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Liberal leadership hopefuls court minister Jean-Yves Duclos

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

He has worked alongside one, but shares a profession with the other.

Québec MP and Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos has yet to decide which of the two presumed front-runners he will support in the federal Liberal leadership race – former finance minister Chrystia Freeland or former governor of the Bank of Canada and then the Bank of England Mark Carney.

As of this writing, Carney, Freeland and Liberal House Leader Karina Gould are the most prominent contenders who have officially announced their intention to replace Justin Trudeau. Candidates have until Jan. 27 to pay the $350,000 entry fee to enter the race. The winner is to be announced March 9.

In a Jan. 17 interview with the QCT, Duclos said he had not yet decided on a candidate to support. “I am waiting for all candidates to have had the opportunity to launch their campaign … Once that is done, I will give them a little time to share their platforms and we’ll look more carefully at the way in which the contribution of Quebec to the federation appears. I strongly believe, and many others do, that Canada is stronger because Quebec is part of Canada, and I would like to see how the platforms of the candidates enable that strong social, economic and environmental sensitivity and contribution of Quebecers [to] feature in the candidates’ platforms.”

Duclos said he would have liked to see a francophone candidate in the race despite the so-called Liberal Party tradition of alternance between anglophone and francophone leaders. He said it is important that candidates “be bilingual, but also important to engage with and relate to people of the two official languages, whoever they may be and wherever they may be in Canada.”

(Former Montreal-area MP Frank Baylis, who is completely bilingual, has also said he wants to run for the leadership).

Duclos, first elected in the Liberal wave of 2015, said he “shares characteristics” with both Freeland and Carney. He said he has worked closely with Freeland on such challenges as the federal government’s ac- quisition of the Quebec Bridge. They also co-chaired the government’s COVID pandemic response cabinet committee when Duclos was minister of health.

“We spent a lot of time trying to save jobs and lives,” Duclos said.

As for Carney, a fellow economist by training, Duclos said, “We therefore share the same type of language, the same type of empirical ability to under- stand how to grow the economy while sharing the benefits as equally as possible, so we have that in common. I know him less well than I know Chrystia, but I’m sure I’ll connect with him quite easily.”

Duclos said Carney, Freeland and other candidates have reached out to him seeking his support.

As for a new leader improving the Liberals’ fortunes in an election that will likely come in the spring, Duclos said, “I think it will help, because unfortunately, until the prime minister announced [his] resignation … there was too much focus on him, on his leadership.

“The Conservatives in par- ticular had been very good at attacking him, personal attacks and all that, the social media, the polarization. He had become too much the focus of a lot of negative attention, and that was unfortunately not only harsh and hard on the party, but also obviously even harsher and more cruel on him, himself.”

Duclos said, “Moving to a new leader allows [Trudeau] to invest all of his energy into defending the interests of Canada in the context of [U.S. President Donald] Trump com- ing into office, so he does that full time now while leaving to someone else the hard work of preparing for the next election.

“I think it’s good that this is happening, and I’ve already been feeling informally in my environment here in Quebec City in particular, that this is making a difference in the minds of people. People are saying, OK, fine, Trudeau has given it up, but he’s now passing the puck to someone else for the campaign and investing all of his energy into protecting us against President Trump.”

Duclos has said he plans to run in the next election.

Federal Liberal leadership hopefuls court minister Jean-Yves Duclos Read More »

Trudeau’s departure draws mixed reaction from local politicos

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , ,

Trudeau’s departure draws mixed reaction from local politicos

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

He won’t be gone from the scene until some time in March, but Justin Trudeau’s resignation instantly threw Canadian politics into a whirlwind of change amid the looming threats against Canada from incoming U.S. president Donald Trump.

On Jan. 6, the same day the U.S. Senate certified Trump’s election, Trudeau announced his decision to step down as Liberal Party leader and prime minister once a new leader is chosen.

The Liberal Party executive has picked March 9 as the date members will choose a suc- cessor to the man who revived the party and led it to three election victories but resisted stepping down as his popular- ity plunged and his caucus urged him to exit.

The opposition parties in Parliament have vowed to defeat the Liberal minority government at the earliest opportunity. That could come anytime after March 24, the date Parliament returns after the governor general granted Trudeau’s request to send the House of Commons into recess.

When – not if – that happens, Canadians likely will go to the polls in May.

In the wake of Trudeau’s not-unexpected announcement, reaction was swift and in most cases predictable.

One of Trudeau’s most dependable ministers and his Quebec lieutenant, Jean-Yves Duclos, the MP for the downtown Québec riding, said in a statement that the prime minister “will leave a lasting positive legacy for Canadians.” Duclos lauded Trudeau’s efforts to reduce child poverty and tackle the housing crisis, and on the local level, commit funding to the city’s tram- way project and buy back the Quebec Bridge.

Duclos told reporters at a scrum on Parliament Hill that Trudeau ultimately succumbed to Conservative Party and Official Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre’s “policy of lies, insults and contempt.”

Duclos’ Conservative counterpart, Charlesbourg–Haute- St-Charles MP Pierre Paul-Hus, replied to the QCT’s request for comment with a statement replicating Poilievre’s comments. “Justin Trudeau’s resignation changes nothing, because the next leader of the Liberal Party of Canada will come from the same team that supported Mr. Trudeau over the past nine years, marked by disastrous economic policies.

“A federal election must be organized quickly to allow Quebecers and Canadians to choose a new government with a strong mandate, capable of negotiating effectively with the Trump administration.”

Louis-Hébert MP Joël Lightbound, the only other elected Liberal in the Quebec City region, said Trudeau’s exit as leader under pressure from the party caucus is of his own doing.

In several media interviews, Lightbound said “you reap what you sow” with regards to the simmering caucus revolt that prompted the prime min- ister’s resignation. “Loyalty is a two-way street.”

Lightbound said on CBC Radio, “I am grateful for what he has accomplished,” including the acquisition of the Quebec Bridge in his riding, but “the style of Mr. Trudeau became a distraction to what we are trying to achieve as a party and a government.”

Lightbound’s office did not reply to a QCT request for an interview by press time.

As for hopes for the party in the looming election, Lightbound said, “I am still of the opinion the Liberal brand is strong.”

Quebec City Mayor Bruno Marchand, with whom Trudeau has worked closely on the tramway project, had a low-key and ambiguous response to the prime minister’s resignation.

In a statement, he said, “It is important to highlight the dedication that is required to be elected for more than 16 years in the Canadian Parliament. Time will allow us to recognize the progress Canada has made during Mr. Trudeau’s nine years as prime minister.” Premier François Legault, who has had a hot and cold relationship with Trudeau over the years, said in a statement, “Although our opinions have often differed, today I want to salute Justin Trudeau’s public service and his commitment to Canada. We have significant challenges ahead of us, particularly with the arrival of Donald Trump on Jan. 20. I will continue to work with Mr. Trudeau, his successor and the current government to avoid these tariffs.”

Trudeau’s departure draws mixed reaction from local politicos Read More »

Québec MP Duclos: Quebec Bridge and tramway big wins in 2024

Local Journalism Initiative / / / ,

Québec MP Duclos: Quebec Bridge and tramway big wins in 2024

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

As our interview with Jean-Yves Duclos wrapped with a question about plans for the holidays, the federal minister scrambled to pull out his phone and show a picture of his newborn grandson.

“Spending more time with him,” Duclos said. Getting some cross-country skiing in is also on the list.

The year-end chat with the minister of public services and procurement at his Boul. Charest riding office on Dec. 13 came with two major events looming on his political agenda, symbolizing the dual role he plays as a key minister in the Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and as the MP for the Québec riding in the heart of Quebec City.

On Dec. 16, were it not for his commitment to be present on the front bench in the House of Commons for the government’s fall economic statement, he would have been in Quebec City for the announcement of the deal to proceed with Phase 1 of the city’s tramway project. (It’s unclear as of this writing whether Chrystia Freeland’s abrupt resignation as finance minister on Dec. 16 changed those plans.)

The tramway, indeed, is one of the two major achievements of 2024 on Duclos’ list, as well as the federal government’s acquisition of the Quebec Bridge.

Duclos said the bridge deal, involving some $40 million over 25 years, secures the future of the historic span. “So now we know what to do in the next year, years and decades, because it will take between 15 and 20 years for the entire bridge to be completely refurbished, painted and secured for the next 75 years. So that’s great news.”

Duclos said with the repair job on the bridge in the works, future uses of the link will be considered, including improved bicycle and pedestrian access, urban transit service including the tramway and as a temporary alternative for heavy truck transport should the Pierre Laporte Bridge be closed. As for the tramway announcement on Dec. 16, Duclos said, “I would have liked to be there, to celebrate the hard work of so many others over the last few years, the support of economic groups like the chambers of commerce and industry on both sides of the river, the environmental groups, the social groups, all of the housing developers [who] are keen on building more homes and more rapidly, attracting new and younger people to the area.”Duclos explained the federal funding commitment to the tramway includes the initial $1.5-billion investment, and “the second is from 2026 onwards. Every year there is an additional $3 billion per year that the federal government is making available to provinces and territories to invest or reinvest in their public transit system.”Of that, the tramway would be eligible for a portion of Quebec’s share of about $700 million annually, Duclos said. “The money is there.”

Whether the money will still be there in the event a Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre is elected next year, Duclos said it’s the usual “incoherence” from the Tory leader. “[H]e travels outside of Quebec and says how marvellous it is for other cities who have received federal public transit support because it leads to more homes being built. He wants to steal the money that is already there and take it away from the city and use it for other purposes.”Duclos is in his fourth cabinet portfolio since the Liberals under Justin Trudeau defeated Stephen Harper’s Conservatives in 2015. Previously minister of families, children and social devel- opment (2015-19), Treasury Board (2019-2021) and health (2021-23), Duclos became Trudeau’s Quebec lieutenant in the fall, when Montreal-area MP Pablo Rodriguez stepped down to run for Quebec Liberal Party leader.

With an election inevitable in 2025, Duclos said Liberal fortunes will improve once Canadians “have to de- cide as to what type of society and country we want to live in in the years to come, and when that time comes, it will be, I think, more clear for Quebecers in particular that the other option being Poilievre’s option, is far from their values and their interest.”Does he plan to run for a fourth term? “Of course, because I’m going to fight for the people in my rid- ing and my region as much as I can … knowing the threat that the election of Pierre Poilievre would bring and knowing that the Bloc Québécois is unable to address that threat.”

His message for 2025? “To keep being mindful of the for- tune we have to live in Canada, in Quebec City in particular. We take many things for granted in life. It’s wonderful to be given the chance, in my case, to be serving the interest of my constituents.”

Duclos added, “I wish [for us to] think of every day as a gift, the gift of being there for each other.”

Québec MP Duclos: Quebec Bridge and tramway big wins in 2024 Read More »

TRAM TRACKER: Anti-tram mayor would be ‘catastrophe’: Duclos

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , , ,

TRAM TRACKER

Anti-tram mayor would be ‘catastrophe’: Duclos

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

With the next municipal election still a year away, Jean-Yves Duclos, the MP for the downtown riding of Québec and minister of public services and procurement, is warning that an anti-tramway mayor for Quebec City would be a “catastrophe.”

Speaking with reporters at an event on Nov. 1 in Quebec City, Duclos said, “It would be a disaster for Quebec City to deprive itself of money from the Canadian government.”

Duclos was responding to questions about a recent Le Soleil poll that shows support for Mayor Bruno Marchand and the tramway project slumping. The survey found 40 per cent of the sample of 514 online respondents supported the tramway, a drop of five points since a similar poll in June.

Marchand’s approval rating similarly has dropped to 38 per cent, a decline of seven points.

Duclos, who is also the federal Liberals’ Quebec lieutenant, said, “We’ll see what people want to decide, but I think it would be a disaster for Quebec City to miss its chance. We’re already behind all the other comparable cities in Canada. We have the chance to catch up.”

The federal government has already committed $1.3 billion to the initial tramway project and has promised to chip in more with the added costs of the project as proposed in June by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec Infra.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said last week on social media if he becomes prime minister he would not invest in the tramway project but rather the “third link” across the St. Lawrence River the Quebec government is proposing.

Duclos said Poilievre “is misleading the people of Quebec City by making them believe that he could use the tramway money to invest in a third link.”

Marchand and his Québec Forte et Fière party took over the tramway project from the administration of Régis Labeaume when he won the 2021 election. Nineteen of the city’s 21 councillors are from parties that support the tramway, with the two-person Équipe priorité Québec caucus the only outliers. Former Quebec Liberal minister Sam Hamad, who is considering a mayoral bid, has said there are too many questions about the tramway for him to support it.

TRAM TRACKER: Anti-tram mayor would be ‘catastrophe’: Duclos Read More »

Francisation courses cut in Lévis as Duclos raises funding questions

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Francisation courses cut in Lévis as Duclos raises funding questions

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

The subsidized French classes offered at the Des Navigateurs adult education centre (CEAN) in Lévis have become the latest casualty of a dispute over funding between the Quebec government and several school boards and service centres which offer the courses, known as francisation.

The courses are funded by the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) through the Ministry of Education and Higher Learning (MEES). The Centre des services scolaire des Navigateurs (CSSDN), which oversees the Lévis program, said in a statement that the program had received funding for the 2024-25 school year based on enrolment numbers from 2020-21, Enrolment numbers were far lower that year, owing to the fact that pandemic-era border restrictions had drastically reduced immigration, and classes at the time were still reserved for recent immigrants.

Like several of its counterparts in other regions, the CSSDN planned on the basis of current demand and hit a funding wall. More than 300 students were enrolled in francisation classes at CEAN this fall. As of this week, “two groups, about 30 learners, will receive training from now until June 2025,” the statement said. The other students will be placed on waiting lists.

The Centre de services scolaire (CSS) de la Capi- tale, which covers much of Quebec City, and the CSS des Découvreurs, in Sainte-Foy, announced similar cuts last week. According to teachers’ union representatives, similar cuts have taken place in the Montreal region, in the Eastern Townships, in the Lower St. Lawrence and in Abitibi, with the loss of dozens of jobs and hundreds of classroom places. The Quebec Liberal Party has called for Commissioner for the French Language Benoit Dubreuil to lead an inquiry into the cuts, arguing that Quebec is “breaking a moral contract” with newcomers.

“We are going to announce openings and increases in course offerings in the coming weeks, in the coming months,” Roberge told MNAs at the National Assembly on Oct. 30, without providing specifics.

Brian Gignac is the executive director of the Megan- tic Community Development Corporation (MCDC), a community organization which supports anglophones in the greater Lévis and Thetford Mines areas. “I think when the government starts cutting in certain regions, it was inevitable for this to happen in Lévis. Unfortunately, new- comers are left on their own,” he told the QCT. “From what we’re hearing, newcomers are extremely reliant on these classes … you might be one of the 30 people lucky enough to continue. If not, good luck. There have been a lot of people coming here for work over the years, and that’s a major blow to their whole integration.”

Gignac and South Shore English Network community development co-ordinator Olena Peleshok, herself a recent arrival from British Columbia who has benefited from francisation classes, said the classes were an important stepping stone into the labour market and into Quebec society, enabling newcomers to get jobs, make friends and communicate with their children’s teachers. They also were worried that the abrupt end to classes made it harder for families to plan.

“Now everyone’s just taking stock of what happened. … Will other groups be able to dispense the classes? How will everything be reorganized? I think it’s going to take maybe a few days or even weeks before we have clearer indications of what’s the path forward from now on,” Gignac said.

Duclos wonders where federal funding went

Early last week, Québec MP Jean-Yves Duclos wrote to Minister for the French Language Jean-François Roberge to formally ask how $775 million in federal funding for immigration and integration in Quebec had been spent.

“We sent $775 million, and the ministry invested $475 million, including $104 million in francisation,” Duclos told the QCT. “There’s a difference between $104 million and $775 million. … We continue to trust the Quebec government with these funds, but when we see classes closing, teachers being laid off and programs being interrupted, we ask questions and we don’t get answers.”

Roberge accused Duclos in a statement of “taking shortcuts that don’t help anyone.

“The real problem is the loss of control at our borders by the federal government. There are too many asylum seekers in Quebec,” Roberge wrote on so- cial media. “The costs involved are immense: health care, education, last-resort assis- tance, housing allowance, food assistance, legal aid, to name a few. Mr. Duclos should start by talking to his colleague [federal immigration minister] Marc Miller so that the $750 million promised by Justin Trudeau in June to compensate [the costs engendered by] asylum seekers is paid. The reality is that we have never invested so much in francisation.”

Duclos acknowledged that Quebec had received more than its share of asylum seekers in recent years, but said the proportion of asylum seekers in the province had dropped in 2024. “It’s normal that the Quebec government is asking for more, but we still signed an agreement for $750 million,” Duclos said, adding that asylum seekers “may need help [in the beginning] but in a few weeks, they find a job and feed their family and pay taxes like everyone else.”

No one from Miller’s office was immediately available to comment.

Francisation courses cut in Lévis as Duclos raises funding questions Read More »

Duclos slams Tory MP who wanted English answer in Commons

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

Duclos slams Tory MP who wanted English answer in Commons

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Calling it “an insult to all francophone members of the House, including the Conservative members opposite,” Liberal MP for Québec and minister Jean-Yves Duclos demanded that a Tory MP apologize for asking him to answer a question in English.

The episode erupted during question period on Oct. 24, when Larry Brock, the MP for the Ontario riding of Brantford–Brant, asked Duclos, the minister of public services and procurement and Quebec political lieutenant, about contracts to a company he claimed were corrupt.

Duclos replied in French, saying, “I am going to say something in French that my colleague has already heard several times in English,” asserting that the auditor general and RCMP are independent and “doing their job” to investigate allegations about the contracts.

When Brock replied, saying, “My question is in English, but I digress,” there was an outburst in the House that Speaker Greg Fergus tried repeatedly to quell, reminding members, “It is a very important and basic fact here that questions can be asked in English or in French and that questions can be answered in English or in French.”

Conservative MP for Lévis–Lotbinière Jacques Gourde followed up Brock’s question with one in French, to which Duclos replied, “I want to congratulate my colleague on asking his question in French. He could have asked it in English because in the House we are free to speak either of the two official languages. I would like to invite his colleague [Brock] to apologize for asking me to answer his question in English.”

Afterwards, Duclos posted the video from the exchange on X, saying, “A francophone should never have to apologize for speaking French in Ottawa. I invite my opposition colleague to retract his statement, quickly.”

Fellow minister Pascale St-Onge reposted Duclos’ message, saying, “Bilingualism is a fundamental principle of our country. We have the right to express ourselves in the language of our choice. Disappointed, but not surprised that another Conservative MP has shown no regard for francophones.”

St-Onge was alluding to an incident in April when Tory MP Rachel Thomas asked the heritage minister to answer a question in English at a Parliamentary committee.

Brock issued an apology on X “for the comments I made dur- ing Question Period … Every member of Parliament has the right to express themselves in the official language of their choice and my comment was inappropriate.”

The Liberal Party of Canada followed up with its post on X: “Liberals will always de- fend bilingualism in Canada – whether the Conservatives like it or not.”

Duclos slams Tory MP who wanted English answer in Commons Read More »

Duclos to Guilbault: Tram money is ‘in the bank’

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , ,

Duclos to Guilbault: Tram money is ‘in the bank’

Peter Black, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

peterblack@qctonline.com

Federal minister and Liberal Quebec lieutenant Jean-Yves Duclos has sharply refuted Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault’s claim Ottawa has yet to “send a cheque” to help finance Quebec City’s tramway project.

Duclos responded to Guilbault’s comments at a media scrum on Oct. 4 following a Quebec City announcement about loans for small busi- nesses. The minister had taken the swipe at the federal govern- ment a week earlier in front of a National Assembly session focused on the tramway project. “I wait for the cheque and the cheque doesn’t arrive,” Guilbault said, in the context of answering questions from opposition MNAs about the CAQ government’s delay in mandating the resumption of construction of the first phase of the tramway project, as promised in June.

Duclos told reporters the federal government has put “$1.5 billion and more in a bank account for the Quebec [City] region for the tramway.”

As for Guilbault’s comments, “I say this with respect, but sometimes I need to say things more clearly … I explained to her again last week what she should have understood a long time ago. I told her several times. I don’t know why it’s not getting through.”

Duclos, who recently took over as Liberal lieutenant for Quebec in the wake of Pablo Rodriguez’s decision to seek the Quebec Liberal Party leadership, said, “To claim that there is no money from the Canadian government is false, and I think everyone should admit that, including Ms. Guilbault. We have to stop diverting attention and going back over old issues that have been clarified for a long time.”

Duclos said when Guilbault sends the bill for the tramway, “we’ll send her a cheque.”

As for the threat of a future Conservative government under Pierre Poilievre, who has said he would not fund the tramway project, Duclos said the Conservative leader “wants to steal money from the tramway bank account of people in the Quebec City region. We can’t imagine that he would want to do that, but knowing Pierre Poilievre, it’s pure Pierre Poilievre.”

Duclos to Guilbault: Tram money is ‘in the bank’ Read More »

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