Martin C. Barry
Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board chairwoman Jennifer Maccarone, who is running for the Quebec Liberals in Westmount-St. Louis in the Oct. 1 provincial election, says she isn’t taking victory for granted, even though voters in the riding have been known for generations as being PLQ supporters.
Working the territory
“I think what’s important in any election is that the candidates get out and work their territory to make sure that they’re well known, while taking the time to understand the needs of the community that they intend to represent,” Maccarone said in a recent interview.
“Nobody has a crystal ball to see what’s in front of them,” she added. “That being said, I’m going to be a hundred per cent committed to the campaign to make sure that I do my best to earn the respect and right to represent the citizens.”
Opposes CAQ plans
Maccarone, who until recently chaired the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) while spearheading opposition to the Liberal government’s discarded plan to close school boards, said the Coalition Avenir Québec’s ongoing agenda to do away with school commissions was one of the main reasons she decided to run.
“The CAQ’s platform is in large part one of the things that gave me the impetus to want to launch myself into politics and be part of the Liberal team,” she said. She said she stands by the PLQ’s commitment to defending the rights of Anglophones.
Says PLQ defends Anglos
“They [the PLQ] have made it clear that their platform and their commitment to the English-language minority community is the only one that we can genuinely count on going forward in the upcoming election,” she said.
“They’ve made it clear that it is their intention to protect our minority language institutions – school boards included. And the CAQ has made it very clear that their intentions are disrespectful and their intentions are to completely dismantle and destroy the institutions that are very important to us.”
