Candidates respond to direct questions from CHIP 101.9

Candidates respond to direct questions from CHIP 101.9

At the candidate forum hosted by CHIP 101.9 on September 6, each of the five candidates present were asked specific questions in English about their party or its policies. These questions were interspersed in the forum along with more general questions about broad topics like economic development or education.

Corinne Canuel-Jolicoeur was asked about a study by the Institut de recherche et d’informations socioéconomiques (IRIS) back in 2018, which found that the Outaouais health care system was underfunded compared to the rest of the province, by about $250 million per year. When asked what her party would do to address this historic disparity, Canuel-Jolicoeur pointed to efforts they had made to increase nurses’ salaries and provide health care workers with daycare.

Terrance Watters of the Quebec Conservatives was asked about the public health measures the provincial government enacted in response to COVID 19. As his party and its leader Eric Duhaime have been quite vocal in their opposition to lockdowns and various mandates, Watters was asked which measures in particular he thought were effective or ineffective. He declined to talk specifics, but did mention that the second curfew enacted around New Years 2022 was perhaps a step too far.

Mike Owen Sebagenzi of Québec Solidaire was asked why he thought his party’s base is primarily urban, and how they planned to win over rural voters. He said that while their party is young and based in cities, he thought that this year was going to be “biggest campaign of their history”, as the CAQ and the Liberals have lost credibility with rural citizens.

Pierre Cyr of the Quebec Greens was asked what he thought was the biggest threat to the environmental health of the province. He responded that he thought Quebec needed to focus on producing things locally and move away from globalization.

André Fortin, the incumbent Liberal MNA, was asked about the internal issues in his party, as nearly a third of their caucus has decided not to seek re-election, and several candidates bowed out at the last minute. When asked why voters should have confidence in the party as a whole, Fortin said that they did have a full slate of 125 candidates, adding that it’s normal for parties to renew themselves.