(Quebec) The elected representative of Québec solidaire Vincent Marissal has not yet decided whether he is entering the race for mayor of Montreal. But he knows, however, that he will not do it with Projet Montréal, while the metropolis “is not doing very well”.
Posted at 12:48 p.m.
“I won’t give you a deadline, but I am not linked to Projet Montréal. There are not 56,000 ways to do this at the municipal level. […] The way to do it is to found a new party, a new movement. It takes time, it requires consultations,” the Rosemont MP said Thursday on the sidelines of the Québec Solidaire pre-sessional caucus.
In October, following Mayor Valérie Plante’s announcement not to run again in the next municipal elections this year, Mr. Marissal said he was starting to think about it. He said at that time that he had been approached and that he could not “stop people from talking”.
He has still not decided on his future. “It’s a big thought because it would be a big decision,” he said.
Not with Projet Montréal
Some may have thought that he could enter the race for the leadership of Projet Montréal, but that is not the case. “Project Montreal seems self-sufficient to me, and they tell it to anyone who will listen. It’s correct, I have nothing against Projet Montréal, I know them, I like them, I work with them as an MP. But if by chance I were to run for mayor, it would not be with this vehicle,” he said.
-He then added that Montreal needed new leadership, and that the metropolis was not at the top of its form. “Montreal is not doing great, let’s face it. I am also a Montrealer first and foremost. “Is this where I want to put my energies, am I the person who could unite a new movement, when I say that these are heavy reflections, that’s it,” he said.
Does Montreal need new leadership? The answer is yes. Whether it’s me, I don’t know. I need to answer that question.
Vincent Marissal
Criticism of the government
Mr. Marissal also criticized the Legault government’s decision to stop paying the fees of schools which open their sports facilities to the population in the evenings and weekends. The Press reported in the morning that the cities feared no longer being able to offer leisure activities to their citizens, while they themselves make their own facilities available to students under an agreement in force since 2018. Several sports federations whose followers attend school gymnasiums are worried about the impact of this decision on the physical and mental health of young people.
“This is a stupid, counterproductive decision that must be immediately abolished. It is part of good sporting and community practice to use the sports infrastructures that we have paid for collectively,” he lamented.
