#elections quebec

[universityofhyrule]

Today there was an election in Quebec and I voted. But then on fb people started criticizing and arguying.. the usual thing. And some annoyed me and I deleted them because saying I'm an uncultured swine is very mean. My life, my choices and opinions.

[lesainturbain]

C'est les élections, allez voter mes p'tits maudits

[seacavemystery]

Should I wear my Pauline Marois costume for when I work at the elections

[huffpostquebec]

Le sourire de Françoise David! Au dessus de la partisanerie, elle félicite Pauline Marois, Nicolas Girard et Léo Bureau-Blouin. On aime.

[elanorthefair]

Fuck no. Not a government minority, with PLQ and CAQ (Right wing parties) as the opposition. Nothing will ever get done.

Fuck.  

[translatingtheprintempserable]

Is the Charest government scared of students? (Métro)

Annabelle Blais     June 18, 2012, updated July 19, 2012

Original French text: http://journalmetro.com/dossiers/conflit-etudiant/124816/le-gouvernement-charest-a-t-il-peur-du-vote-des-etudiants/

Photo caption: Student associations are counting on making youth realize the importance of getting out to vote, as well as lawfully making their concerns heard to candidates. Métro Archives.

In the eyes of student associations, a letter sent to Elections Quebec by the director general of the Liberal Party shows that the Liberals are scared of the youth vote.  

Karl Blackburn, director general of the Parti Liberal du Québec, sent a letter on Tuesday to the director general of Elections Québec (DGEQ), stating concern about respect for the electoral law by student associations.  "Having recently announced that it was targeting a dozen ridings, CLASSE would have us believe today that its actions will not be taken within the context of an electoral campaign.  Don't be fooled, we are looking at nothing other than an announcement of potential violations to the law," wrote Blackburn.

Yanick Gregoire, vice-president of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ), says that the letter is a fear tactic.  He also points out that Blackburn has confused the players, because it is FEUQ that plans to target contested ridings, not CLASSE.  "We're seeing someone in panic mode who sees that youth want to take part in the electoral process within the limits of the law," Gregoire believes.  "We tell people to go vote because it is important.  I don't think anyone can be against this civic virtue.  Other than the Liberals, it seems."

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for CLASSE, adds that the object of this letter is also to marginalize opposition.  Regarding electoral law, FEUQ and CLASSE have said they are aware of it and wish to respect it.  No matter what the Liberal party thinks, FEUQ will continue to target ridings where the competition between candidates will be tightly contested when an election is called.  

The students count above all on being able to convey to the public the importance of going out to vote, as well as lawfully making their concerns heard to candidates.  Denis Dion, spokesperson for the DGEQ, explains that during an election campaign, a partisan action by a lobby group is not illegal as long as it does not incur an expense.  For example, a twitter message against a party is a partisan action, but one that costs nothing.  

On the other hand, if students buy ads in the pages of a newspaper, the ad cannot be partisan.  Each case reported to the DGEQ is analyzed to determine whether this is the case.  

If the students' message is to get out and vote against the Liberals, then that is partisan.  But if they encourage people to vote for parties that promote accessibility to education, then everything depends on the terms being used.  "Telling people to get out and vote is not partisan," argues Gregoire.  Therefore, at face value, this would not be a problem, Dion confirmed.  

It was not possible to reach Mr. Blackburn on Wednesday.  

***

Translated from the original French by Translating the printemps érable.

*Translating the printemps érable is a volunteer collective attempting to balance the English media’s extremely poor coverage of the student conflict in Québec by translating media that has been published in French into English. These are amateur translations; we have done our best to translate these pieces fairly and coherently, but the final texts may still leave something to be desired. If you find any important errors in any of these texts, we would be very grateful if you would share them with us at [email protected]. Please read and distribute these texts in the spirit in which they were intended; that of solidarity and the sharing of information.

[translatingtheprintempserable]

A Letter to the Director General of Elections Quebec: the Quebec Liberal Party is worried about CLASSE's intentions (Le Devoir)

La Presse canadienne    July 18, 2012

Original French Text: http://www.ledevoir.com/politique/quebec/354851/lettre-au-dgeq-le-directeur-general-du-plq-s-inquiete-des-intentions-de-la-classe

Photo : François Pesant - Le Devoir. Caption: The letter is in response to comments made last week by CLASSE that the organization did not intend to keep silent during the next election campaign.

In a letter sent yesterday and made public on Twitter, the director general of the Liberal party of Quebec addressed himself to his counterpart at the office of Elections Quebec, asking him to monitor the application of electoral law, at a time when an election call is rumoured for the beginning of September.  

The letter is from Karl Blackburn to Jacques Drouin, director general of Elections Quebec, and it comes after an article published in last Friday's edition of La Presse, in which the director general's spokesperson reiterated certain elements of Quebec electoral law dealing with partisan electoral spending.  

In that article, Cynthia Gagnon is quoted as saying, "Students and other third parties can express their opinions and participate in democratic debate during an election campaign, as long as their partisan activities do not incur expenses."

The letter also comes after a flurry of responses to the statement of the spokesperson of the Coalition large pour une Association de solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE) that the organization did not intend to keep silent during the eventual election campaign.  

However, at its congress, which was held Saturday at the University of Laval, CLASSE confirmed that it would not support any political party.

Despite this, Blackburn says he is extremely worried by the fact that "a lobby group has explicitly announced its intention to engage in the electoral debate without regard to the law."  As well, he says he doubts CLASSE's true intentions. 

"Having recently announced that it was targeting a dozen ridings, CLASSE would have us believe today that its actions will not be taken within the context of an electoral campaign.  Don't be fooled, we are looking at nothing other than an announcement of potential violations to the law," said Blackburn.

"Can we let stand idly by and let big unions, from here and from elsewhere, finance this organization and others?  Do we want to live through events like Victoriaville?  Remember that the logistics of bussing in protesters, among which were rioters, was largely paid for by big unions," he added.

In his letter, the director general of the PLQ says he believes it is the duty of Elections Quebec to communicate his intended response to representatives of political parties without delay, in the face of what the PLQ considers to be "an explicit announcement of intention to disrespect electoral spending limits," as well as to lay out how Elections Quebec will apply the law during the eventual election period.  

"It is paramount that you remind all parties and all people that the laws we have so carefully safeguarded don't just ensure that elections run smoothly, they also seek to protest the democratic institutions on which rest our entire way of life, and that for that reason you will do everything in your power to apply the law."  

***

Translated from the original French by Translating the printemps érable.

*Translating the printemps érable is a volunteer collective attempting to balance the English media’s extremely poor coverage of the student conflict in Québec by translating media that has been published in French into English. These are amateur translations; we have done our best to translate these pieces fairly and coherently, but the final texts may still leave something to be desired. If you find any important errors in any of these texts, we would be very grateful if you would share them with us at [email protected]. Please read and distribute these texts in the spirit in which they were intended; that of solidarity and the sharing of information.