Saint-Jean MP Christine Normandin believes that the last parliamentary session was very intense despite a certain paralysis in the House of Commons. The elected official underlines that the Bloc Québécois (BQ) has succeeded in advancing some of its key issues and that the party is ready for possible elections. Subjects related to National Defense and immigration received considerable attention.
Christine Normandin points out that the parliamentary work sessions that have taken place in Ottawa since the fall have been largely cacophonous, but the situation has not harmed the BQ, on the contrary.
“The Bloc found itself with a sort of balance of power in September. It changed the dynamic in the House quite a bit. We have rarely found ourselves as interesting for the rest of Canada as this session,” underlines Ms. Normandin with humor.
She specifies that two Bloc issues in particular caught the attention of parliamentarians. The protection of supply management gained visibility thanks to Donald Trump’s comments on customs tariffs, and that of improving old age security was widely discussed after the Trudeau government announced its intention to send a check for $250 to Canadians who worked in 2024, but excluding in fact retirees.
Saint John
In the region, Ms. Normandin has received a lot of feedback from citizens who have fears about immigration and border management. She mentions that the BQ raised a red flag on this subject well before the US elections on November 5, but the other parties paid no attention to it.
Immigration has also sparked a lot of discussion among entrepreneurs in the region, as certain standards surrounding the possibility of employing temporary foreign workers have changed. Ms. Normandin mentions that Saint-Jean found itself in a sort of “administrative anomaly”.
“The federal government has reduced the number of temporary foreign workers that a company can have. We are going from 20% to 10%, as it was before the pandemic. But for regions where the unemployment rate is above 6%, there are additional measures […] Saint-Jean is included in the map of Montreal, where the unemployment rate is above 8%. But during this time, in Montérégie, the unemployment rate is at 4.8%,” she laments.
The elected official will continue to make efforts to argue that this situation is unfair, especially since it is the only city in the MRC that was included in this delimitation.
Defense
The MP emphasizes that she will continue to push for the government to achieve its target of investing 2% of its GDP in National Defense.
Ms. Normandin will also continue to work on the renewal of the management contract for the Fort St-Jean site. She believes that in this matter, it is important to highlight the quality of the work done by the Corporation du Fort St-Jean for more than two decades. She wants the organization to be able to obtain the contract again and she will plead in its favor.
Suite
Christine Normandin gave birth to Léopold Normandin on Friday December 6. The elected official will now have to juggle her realities as a mother and as a deputy, but she will not shy away from the challenge.
La Johannaise will be the Bloc candidate in Saint-Jean in the next elections. She will not hesitate to put her maternity leave on hold if a federal election is called.
