on DTNicholson's Wednesday-Night.com

Wednesday May 14, 2008 ADQ ambiguity no longer appeals
It's never a good idea to read too much into by-election results. Unlike in general elections, voters use by-elections as a chance to blow off steam. Or they don't use the chance, staying home from the polls in large numbers.

Sunday Mar 16, 2008 Dumont draws roars of approval
The party may be sinking in the polls, but the mood was upbeat yesterday at the Action démocratique.
...A confidence vote on Dumont's leadership is being held at the convention but the only suspense involved is whether he will top the record 97.2-per-cent approval rating Premier Jean Charest got at a Liberal convention last weekend. The result is to be announced at today's convention wrapup.

2007

Monday Jul 2, 2007 68% of Canadians say: United we'll stand When Canadians were recently asked whether they're hopeful about the future state of Quebec's relationship...

The question: Looking ahead to the year 2017, are you optimistic or pessimistic about relations between Quebec and the rest of Canada?

A leading quebec cabinet minister argues that Canada is not a confederation after all and- boo, hiss - Mario Dumont's ADQ wants to turn it into one

During his term-and-a-bit in office, Jean Charest has inexplicably squandered much of the good will he had when first elected by playing the role of politician rather than that of statesman. Now, faced with the prospect of another election, rather than making acceptable compromises with the parties in opposition, he appears to be playing chicken with them. It is clear that the population of Québec does not want a second election in the space of less than a year and if the Liberal Party cannot bring itself to compromise with the opposition, the Lieutenant Governor should follow the lead of Ontario in a comparable situation with Peterson's Liberals and Bob Rae's NDP, and name Mario Dumont Premier while extracting a commitment from all parties to refrain from an election for a period of eighteen months to two years. While avoiding a costly election, the second within a year, this would also serve the purpose of providing a reasonably stable government while enabling the three parties to replenish their coffers. The Liberals could profit by transforming some of their arrogance into statesmanship, the Parti Québécois would be able to test the strength of its own new leader and the weaknesses of both the leadership and the rank and file of the ADQ, and Mario Dumont would have the opportunity to test his mettle in the National Assembly arena.

Voting day

Race is too close to call. Leaders know turnout is important, make last-minute pleas for support

The politicians have had their say and it's time for 5.6 million eligible voters to have theirs as ...

Le chef de l'Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ), Mario Dumont, était de passage mercredi à Trois-Rivières, où se présente son bras droit Sébastien Proulx.

Avant son point de presse, le chef adéquiste s'est entretenu à l'hôtel de ville avec le maire de Trois-Rivières, Yves Lévesque, sur les projets de développement de la municipalité. M. Dumont s'est du reste montré attentif aux doléances du maire, promettant de tout faire, s'il est élu, pour aider Trois-Rivières à se redéployer.

2006

In June 1995, the sovereignty movement takes an unexpected twist when a political alliance is struck between the Parti Québécois, the Bloc Québécois and the Action Démocratique du Québec. With public support for sovereignty fading, Premier Jacques Parizeau engineers the three-way union, which includes a retooled referendum option aimed at more moderate Quebecers. This CBC Radio clip evaluates the strategy behind a landmark coalition that would go on to become the cornerstone of the Yes campaign.

2003

Tuesday Mar 4, 2003 gazette
Dumont pins health fund to Quebec resources Mario Dumont doesn't just want to govern for right now, he wants to govern on behalf of future generations too.
The two themes of Dumont's speech were the ADQ's platform promise, unveiled this week, to pay down the debt by $10 billion over five years and his desire to harness the profits of Quebec's hydro-electric power and put them toward health.
The Caisse Santé, or health fund, would be akin to Alberta's multi-billion-dollar Heritage Fund, which is funded by that province's oil and gas riches.

Tuesday Mar 4, 2003 gazette
ADQ SLAMS PQ SPENDING SPREE With many people expecting a provincial election to be called within weeks, the Action democratique du Quebec (ADQ) is accusing the governing Parti Québécois of trying to buy votes.

Dumont proposes major changes for current municipal structure

By Martin C. Barry August 2 2006

Addressing a well-attended joint meeting of the Westmount and Montreal Westward Rotary Clubs in Victoria Hall, Dumont didn't conceal the fact he hopes to win support in demerged cities in the next provincial election through his party's anti-Agglomeration stance.

He invited his hosts to "become aware of the political offer that we are making in view of the upcoming elections."

After presenting an historic overview of the various municipal reforms the Liberal and PQ governments have legislated over the past five years to the detriment of Westmount and other demerged suburbs across the province, he said he wanted "to offer an option."

While Dumont has been on record some months now calling for the abolition of Agglomeration Councils that were set up by the Liberals in Quebec's major urban centres, he said yesterday that the party would also see the tax system returned to a single-bill format as it was before.

"The additional tax bill is just another underhanded way to reach further into the pockets of the taxpayer, since nothing changes," he said. "He doesn't get any improvement in public services, (and) most of the time services deteriorate.

"The abolition of the agglomeration tax will mark an important turning point in terms of democracy because one of the principles of our democratic institutions, 'No taxation without representation,' which you all know very well, will be reestablished," he added.

Dumont promised that once abolished, there would be no question of replacing the Agglomeration Council system with another similar structure. "The ADQ is not a party that favours bureaucracy," he said. "It's a cautious and conscientious party that wants to make sure bureaucracy fulfills its role efficiently and at the most reasonable cost. So no new and useless structures."

He pointed out, however, that the demerged suburbs agree an equitable form of cost sharing with the City of Montreal needs to be worked out. Among other things, he pledged that the ADQ would find new ways for Montreal to finance itself without having to reach into the pockets of neighbouring cities.

"It's a centre city that controls and maintains services and infrastructures that are used by all the citizens of the island of Montreal," he said. "We must take this into account and agree on the sharing of common expenses between the cities on the island.

"But never at the price of their political autonomy. The demerged cities clearly expressed their determination to recover their autonomy and they must be given this autonomy in exchange for a clear and negotiated division of expenses to be shared between them."

Dumont suggested that an appropriate replacement for the Agglomeration Council would be one based on the former MUC.

"I believe that we will have to look back on the 30 years the Montreal Urban Community existed when we all finally sit down around the table, all the parties concerned, to decide on a new form of governance," he said.

During a brief question period after Dumont’s talk, Westmount Rotarian John Donovan asked the ADQ leader how committed his party is to not forcing municipalities to be merged.

“As I understand it, when originally Quebec municipalities were formed, their charters were granted on the corporate model and the only way they could be dissolved is if they voluntarily surrendered or if they went bankrupt,” said Donovan.

“If you have a municipality that is incorporated, I heard you say that you would not as an ADQ government force the municipalities to merge without discussion. Can you go further and say that the ADQ would not consider mergers of municipalities, unless the municipalities voluntarily wanted it or unless they were close to bankruptcy?”

Dumont replied, “For me it’s pretty much the same. I mean if you don’t force mergers, you don’t force mergers. If there are discussion about mergers, discussions can be initiated or started by a mayor, an MNA, a minister, a journalist. I mean, discussions can be started by anybody.

“But when a government commits to not forcing them, they cannot happen unless you have the consent of the people at the local level and this is the sense of the

commitment.”

Stanley Baker, a de Maisonneuve Boulevard resident, asked Dumont about his party’s position on Canadian federalism.

“The ADQ is working within the Canadian context,” he replied. “We demand more autonomy for Quebec within Canada ... I certainly personally, and I think many people in our party, have a preference for the Conservative vision, in the sense that it’s a more centralized Canadian federation. But certainly we would oppose any other referendum by the PQ as I’ve mentioned thousands of times.”

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2008