How Competent?

Just as well for those who simply wanted to rid themselves of the corrupt government of Jean Charest that they made the change giving the opposition Parti Quebecois a minority government.  As such, their changes to Quebec haven't been as draconian as they might have been.  The voters were, of course, forewarned, since Pauline Marois, now premier of the province, stated quite openly what her priorities were.

Perhaps that's what got her that minority instead of the majority she was hoping for.  The voters felt compelled to clean house with the election, not to sweep all their social justice requirements out of the house entirely.  As it is, anglophones in the province continue to be under-served and under-recognized, but we are led to believe that things could have been worse.

Pauline Marois and her Parti Quebecois came to govern on a promise to sweep the province clean of corruption.  On that promise alone she should be grateful that she hit the mark.  She indulged in a little bit of questionable patronage herself when she appointed former PQ leader Andre Boisclair delegate-general in New York City, along with the post of assistant deputy minister, assuring him a dandy lifetime take-home-pay-packet.

Accepting the resignation of Daniel Breton as environment minister, Premier Marois bristled at the suggestion she hadn't done an adequate background check, saying she had been aware of his background, but thought he had merit nonetheless.  Until it became public knowledge that he continually failed to pay fines and rent, was guilty of employment insurance fraud, and drove with a suspended license; some cabinet material that is.

And those dratted health taxes that we all hate?  People living in Quebec detest them as well, and would like to see them drafted out of existence, as they once were, but times are hard and provincial economies have been strained.  And although the Finance Minister insisted post-election his government would honour the promise to scrap the Liberal-imposed health tax, it hasn't been done.

This new government plans to put in place their own provincial gun registry.  If so, they'll likely have to do so from step one.  Unless they continue to wait for the federal government to cough up the data that was destroyed with the suspension of the federal gun registry as ineffectual, costly and useless.  Collecting their own provincial data will strain the already-overstrained budget of the province.

During the Quebec university/college student 'strike' refusing to pay higher tuition costs that would still leave them paying the least of any province, Pauline Marois pledged to cancel the raised tuition brought in by the Liberals and leading to student civil disobedience and violence.  Now the same students are agitating for free tuition. Ms. Marois was, before becoming premier, sensitive to their demands on that score.

This week the provincial Minister of Higher Education informed universities in the province of budget cuts of $124-million for the current academic year.  Unable to raise tuition from students, and unable to rely on provincial funding, the universities are apoplectic with disbelief.  "Unrealistic" as in beyond belief, according to Universite Laval rector Denis Briere.

So how're the Parti Quebecois and their red square, pot-banging premier doing?