Our record and actions

The last four years have flown by, and over this time, we have done some very good things, some less so. Overall, our record quite clearly has been good.

Health has been our government's top priority and, accordingly, this sector has been given a great deal of attention, receiving three quarters of new government funding. The result has been a marked decrease in wait times for several types of surgery, as well as for emergencies. And although the shortage of nurses and the loss of doctors due to the early retirements offered by the former government have not yet been fully dealt with, the number of spaces that have opened up in nursing and medicine has doubled over the last three years. And don't forget, it takes at least five years to become a doctor.

Furthermore, decisions have finally been taken regarding the construction of two university hospitals at McGill University and at the Université de Montréal, hospitals that will be built right here in our riding.

Regarding education, students in elementary schools are now receiving one and a half more hours of teaching, which brings us up to par with the rest of Canada. And then there's the teaching of English beginning in grade one in francophone schools, as well as a doubling of teaching time for physical education for 80 per cent of students.

In the downtown area in particular, we have seen the universities complete construction of several faculties on bigger campuses. And although there's been more than $1 billion invested in this sector alone, there is still work to do towards funding their day to day operations.

Turning to municipal affairs, the municipalities that were swallowed up by the forced amalgamations were returned to the citizens who wanted them back.

However, the Agglomeration Commission, created just over a year ago to regulate the many services common to both the downtown and the de-amalgamated cities, is not working out as planned and, as such, will need to be thought out again. Nevertheless, we will have to find an acceptable way of managing supra-municipal services.

As for the environment, both David Suzuki and Greenpeace have noted that Quebec's new environmental policy is the most advanced and the best adapted in Canada.

Finally, regarding family policy, following the creation of 35,000 spaces in the province's Centres de la Petite Enfance and the new parental policy allowing for better-paid post-natal leave for both parents, life has become much better for families.

And then there's André Boisclair. He may have felt the sting of former Premier Bernard Landry's slingshot recently, but he remains a worthy opponent. His platform is clear—hold a referendum as soon as possible—and his electoral promises are focusing on well-chosen ridings. If he takes power, he will unleash a referendum similar to that seen in 1995. As for Mario Dumont and his party, he has tried to get the most political mileage, in particular with his condemnation of 'reasonable accommodation'. His support for Hérouxville and their 'normes de vie', or code of conduct for immigrants, makes him a politician ready to embrace any cause, even if it goes against the most important values of our society, including tolerance.

So for now, I bid you farewell. It will soon be time for you to choose. For my part, I am once again ready to serve.



Jacques Chagnon is the Liberal MNA for Westmount-St. Louis.