Age not an issue for PQ candidate Johnson-Meneghini

“It’s all part of a party renewal the PQ is doing,” says Meneghini. “We’re trying to bring in more young people.”

Meneghini says her campaign will target the youth vote, focusing mostly on students. She is critical of the Liberals decision to increase tuition freeze, a decision she feels was unjustified. “I think this is something the matters to students and the families of students,” she said. “The PQ supported a tuition freeze. If you want to increase tuitions, have something to justify it. Build new buildings, do something. The Liberals haven’t justified this.” Meneghini is currently in her last year at Cegep de Maisonneuve, earning a DEC in social science and plans to study history at university.

A resident of the Westmount – St. Louis riding, Meneghini has been working with the party for the past three years, working closely with out-going MNA Louise Harel in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. She’s excited to be running in Westmount – St. Louis, which she describes as one of the more diverse ridings in Quebec. “We have all the schools, businesses, hospitals, people from all over,” she says.

The young candidate takes issues with the Liberals assertion that the forced retirement of doctors and nurses 10 years ago has contributed to the shortage of health care workers the province is now experiencing. “As Pauline Marois said, the people who we retired are in their 70s now. They’d be retired by now anyway.”

Meneghini also disagrees with the Liberal claim that the PQ was unwilling to cooperate in the National Assembly. “We didn’t want this election,” she said. “We’re $800,000 in debt. If you look at the transcripts and video from the National Assembly, we were trying to work with the government.”

She says the Liberals are erring by focusing their campaign on the economy and financial crisis. “There are other things to deal with” she says. “Health care, poverty, education, these things matter too.” By setting up social programs and helping out students and the poor, Meneghini says the financial crisis can be prevented from affecting Quebec too much. According to her, the PQ has measures ready to put in place if they are elected to form the government. She believes that the proposed infrastructure spending the Liberals have been touting will not be enough to stave off a crisis. “Look at this grand ‘Plan du Nord’,” she said, referring to the Liberals' recent announcements to speed up development of Quebec’s northern region. “That only starts in 2015. Can we afford 25 years of investment? People need programs that will help them now, not in a few years. This is what the PQ is offering.”