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home / 世界杯决赛2022

quebec's deputy premier guilbault tests positive with covid-19

a total of 10 mnas have now been sidelined, including premier françois legault.

by philip authier

mar 31 2022
read time 4 minute read
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quebec — with the premier and numerous mnas sidelined by covid-19 , work at the national assembly slowed on wednesday amid concerns about how to manage the mound of unadopted legislation given the circumstances.

the clock is ticking toward a spring legislative recess, which will lead directly into the october general election, so there were plenty of worried faces when mnas arrived for work to find a number of empty seats in the legislature’s salon bleu.
public health reauthorized the physical presence of all 125 mnas starting march 15, and there have not been outbreaks linked to the legislature. but people are getting infected elsewhere and now have to stay home.
as of wednesday evening, nine mnas — seven from the governing coalition avenir québec, one from the liberals and one from québec solidaire — had tested positive and were forced to isolate themselves at home. many political employees are also absent.

the news of the infections came before the announcement that quebec is now officially in the sixth wave of the pandemic .

“it’s definitely affecting work at the national assembly because people cannot show up,” liberal leader dominique anglade told reporters. “so it is affecting the situation, as it is affecting the lives of quebecers in general.
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“we’re not an island at the national assembly.”
anglade added that the last-minute flurry of bills tabled by a caq government in a rush to push through its agenda — combined with the effects of covid-19 — has created a legislative logjam requiring the government to set careful priorities.

“i sense a certain worry,” said québec solidaire co-spokesperson gabriel nadeau-dubois, who returned this week from a paternity leave . “i hope all the mnas will be cautious and we can continue to work at the assembly.”

“i am worried,” added parti québécois house leader martin ouellet. “we’re starting to see the empty seats of colleagues who got positive covid results. but we are no different than quebec society. there is covid in the workplace. there is covid in the health system. there is covid everywhere.”

on wednesday, deputy premier geneviève guilbault became the latest politician to test positive and be forced to isolate.

guilbault, who is also public security minister, made the announcement on twitter. on sunday, she revealed she would be staying home to care for her four-year-old daughter, who had tested positive.
“i have taken care of her since then and felt symptoms monday, which were confirmed by a positive test yesterday,” guilbault said.
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“i will thus remain isolated until saturday in conformity with the public health guidelines.”

premier françois legault, meanwhile, remained confined at home after testing positive last thursday .

“he’s getting better,” said press attaché ewan sauves, noting the regular wednesday cabinet meeting proceeded virtually, as has been the case for about two years.
the absence of quebec’s top two leaders is unusual. during the peak of the pandemic in 2020, the government arranged for legault and guilbault to never be in the same room together in an effort to avoid government paralysis in the event one became sick.
it is a custom in the parliamentary system for the premier — the ultimate authority with the executive council — to lead and co-ordinate the work of ministers.
now, with legault and guilbault working from home, individual ministers are expected to manage their own files, an aide said. in the legislature itself, caq house leader simon jolin-barrette is in charge and determines the order of business.
jolin-barrette said wednesday he is not too worried about the legislative situation.
“of course we will adjust,” he said, noting any gaps at the committee level have been filled. “we must respect public health rules and do distancing and wear masks in the salon bleu.”

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jolin-barrette said he does not believe the health rules at the legislature were eased too soon.
“we’re following public health, but as far as parliamentary work goes, we’re adjusting on both sides of the house.”
asked if he would have to suspend the usual rules for adopting laws in order to get them passed in time, a procedure known as closure, jolin-barrette said: “not at all, not at all.”

one parliamentary committee — to study changes to the auto insurance law under bill 22 — was forced to postpone its work this week because transport minister françois bonnardel tested positive.

besides legault, guilbault and bonnardel, the following mnas have tested positive: mario asselin, stéphanie lachance, sébastien schneeberger, lise lavallée (caq); christine st-pierre (liberal); and émilise lessard-therrien (québec solidaire).
not counting two weeks when mnas work in their ridings, nine legislative weeks are left in which to adopt laws before the june 10 adjournment. that will mark the last time they will be in the legislature before the oct. 3 election.
on wednesday, quebec reported 3,067 more covid-19 cases and eight deaths. another 47 people were hospitalized. the case tally does not accurately reflect the number of cases, since it does not include the results of home rapid tests.

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pauthier@postmedia.com
twitter.com/philipauthier

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philip authier, montreal gazette
philip authier, montreal gazette

hello from the quebec capital where i have been covering work at the national assembly since around 1989 when i joined the montreal gazette. i have seen many interesting events working here including the 1995 referendum, the rise of the coalition avenir québec and heated debates on touchy issues like bill 21 on state secularism and bill 96 on language. quebec being a winter city, i enjoy cross-country skiing and the carnaval. in the summer i am often found fishing and biking.

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