Published at 6:00 am.
From now on I will be a collaborator Pres. It’s quite a change.
I’ve been doing what you call collective action in my hometown, Outais, for the past 15 years. This commitment began with my participation in the relaunch of the Laiterie de l’Outauais. The dairy industry, like many others, is subject to excessive centralization and my region is a big “Enough!”
I was involved in the founding of Projet Gatineau, a think tank on municipal politics. Observers accused Gatineau of lacking vision, and instead of criticizing, a group of citizens decided to mobilize to propose their own vision for the future. In the meantime, I became a municipal councilor and the mobilization of Projet Gatineau led to the creation of Gatineau’s first municipal political party, and later led to the drafting of a plan that I tried to put in place during my eight years at the town hall. Fourth largest city in Quebec.
So I now write in a daily newspaper… I wonder at first. I am not impressed by the kind of comments in the media and the speed of the process. There are also a good number of ex-politicians and ex-politicians who have already held many positions. Why this choice?
First, because I love Quebec so much Pres Expressing ideas is one of the most powerful vehicles for those who want to help make it happen. Camille Laurin likes to reiterate that it’s ideas, not money, that make the world run. Véronique Côté, great article on the topic livable life, expressed the same point a little more poetically: “Our speech is perhaps the most powerful tool at our disposal, the most creative tool, the most threatening ammunition. Used well, anything can be done. To make good use of it, I try to speak We areNo We are Majesty, but this We are The Quebec joint is still fragile, not yet defined, and it can develop a lot of strength.
I want to help explain the municipal world, get to know it, and brag a little about it. Ironically, while our future is being built locally, the political level is largely ignored. I firmly believe that it is in all of our interests to better understand and integrate it.
Finally, the media often gives me the impression that I am talking about a Quebec that is not mine. There is a Montrealization, sometimes even an Americanization, in public debates, which I want to help dilute with a reflection that starts from all of our reality, our history, our challenges. Detailed plan!
But above all, I will try to share with you proposals for solutions to our collective problems, useful nuances for our discussions, and above all, my enthusiasm for collective action.
But I have a little fear.
One of the greatest political blessings of being mayor is that the name of our city is the primary label that defines us. Although I was a sovereign mayor in a federal Gatineau, the federalists were open to what I had to say because I was the mayor of their city. The disease of labels scares me because it limits listening and it kills conversation. To paraphrase the French writer Jean-Patrick Manchette, I would say that labels like right or left, no identity, progressive or conservative are often “two jaws of the same trap for fools.” We label the other, we no longer study it, we stand firm and nothing changes. I believe he will be in the inevitable seal, and I will be adorned with a little of this favorable prejudice, and the mayors will benefit.
Pres It gives me an opportunity to address a large part of my nation. I am very grateful to him and will try to make good use of this site. See you on Monday!
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