Photo: Martin C. Barry
Chomedey Liberal MNA Guy Ouellette is the new chairman of the Quebec Liberals’
Laval caucus.

Chomedey Liberal MNA Guy Ouellette, who has just been appointed chairman of the Quebec Liberals’ Laval caucus, says the area’s constituents can rest assured that the caucus will be informing them of the government’s plans with full transparency, and their views will always be welcome by all the members of the caucus.

Many caucuses
The caucus, which is made up of the five Liberal MNAs representing Laval, is one of several caucuses which operate at different levels within the Quebec Liberal Party. By definition, a caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement. The Quebec Liberal Party’s topmost caucus is composed of all the party’s elected members who sit in the National Assembly. They meet daily with Premier Jean Charest to prepare for sessions in the assembly, for question periods, as well as for work done by the parliamentary commissions.
Individual MNAs can also bring forth their ideas during meetings of the caucus and present views on behalf of their constituents. Each region in Quebec, including Laval, also has its own caucus. Appointment of the chairman of the regional caucus, which takes place once a year, is determined among the MNAs for the region on a rotating basis. According to Ouellette, the next chairman a year from now will be either Vimont MNA Vincent Auclair or Mille-Îles MNA Francine Charbonneau.

A liaison to community
“The most important thing for the Laval caucus is to make sure that citizens have regional representation in the caucus with all the MNAs,” said Ouellette, adding that the Laval caucus chair’s responsibility is to keep the MNAs informed of important developments coming from the higher reaches of the party and to channel all relevant information to them which pertains to Laval. Ouellette also acts as the official liaison to local community organizations that may wish to point out their needs or express points of view to the government.
“If, for example, the senior citizens organization wants to make a presentation to the Laval caucus so that their views are brought to the top, they will call my office and we will set up a meeting,” Ouellette said. “If the presentation has to be made in front of all the MNAs, I can organize that meeting. I am the facilitator for the constituents to make sure that all the MNAs receive the information and are kept updated on all topics regarding citizens, the province and the government.”

‘Godfather’ in PQ ridings
In addition to his duties chairing the Laval caucus, Ouellette acts as Liberal “godfather” for two ridings — Prévost and Bertrand — where the PQ currently has MNAs elected. Some important issues the Laval caucus has before it right now include the ongoing development of Autoroutes 19 and 25 in eastern Laval, as well as Autoroute 15 which bisects the island. On the A-19, the government is still pondering whether to extend the roadway beyond Autoroute 440 up to Autoroute 640 on the other side of the rivière des Mille-Îles. “We really need to have all kinds of avenues to make sure that traffic will improve over the years,” said Ouellet.