Trained as a lawyer, I have worked in the community sector (seven years), specifically for the representation and defense of human rights. I then went back to school to study law, which led to my admission to the Quebec bar and to a private career as a defense lawyer (criminal and carceral). In 2003, I became a college-level teacher and trained correctional officers. Finally, since 2012, I have been working in the municipal field, first as director general (eight years) and now as clerk for the municipality of Ormstown.
What would you do to improve or guarantee the availability of proximity healthcare services for rural communities?
The Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) is committed to giving greater decision-making autonomy to the regions so that they can have control over their budgets and workforce management. This will allow each facility to have its own management to ensure faster and more efficient service, based on the real needs of the community. In our riding, the Barrie Memorial Hospital will benefit from this decentralization, reducing the current administrative burden. Facilities will now be rewarded for innovations that reduce expenditures and improve service timeliness. In order to ensure timely access to specialized services for all, the Party will allow private companies to compete with the public health care system, with the cost of their services covered by the RAMQ. Finally, health promotion and disease prevention, coupled with a major increase in medical admissions, will significantly change the face of the health care system.
How would you help farmers and farming communities contribute to the fight against climate change?
The Conservative Party of Quebec advocates a proactive and rational approach to environmental issues. We want to keep a realistic discourse, refusing to sink into the announcement of beautiful promises (never kept) as so many political parties do. Innovation and values of responsibility are at the root of the solution. Thus, a Conservative government will encourage environmental entrepreneurship and play a facilitating role in guiding and encouraging private enterprise to develop resources responsibly. Better control of industrial and agricultural waste is also advocated by the Party; assistance programs and financial support will be offered to improve the insulation of farm buildings, and ensure soil health and crop survival. To ensure economic development in harmony with the environment, the PCQ will create national education centres at various academic levels.
What would you do to ensure the constitutional rights of ethnic and linguistic minority populations?
The defense of human rights and freedoms is at the core of the values and principles of the PCQ.
On the linguistic front, we are committed to repealing Bill 96 in our first mandate, believing that it is more important to francize immigrants in order to achieve true integration than to create a division between anglophones and francophones, who together built Quebec. A true leader does not divide, he brings together.
As French must remain the official language of Quebec, we respect parental authority and the choice that parents make for their children and adults to study in the language of their choice. Being bilingual is an advantage, not a disadvantage, especially for a professional future.
