
Roger-Luc Chayer
I recently had the chance to speak with Jennifer Maccarone, Member of the National Assembly for Westmount–Saint-Louis and spokesperson for the Quebec Liberal Party for the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities. I am pleased to share here the essence of our exchanges, which were very interesting. « In fact, I didn’t get into politics; it was politics that came to me. I had never been a spokesperson for anything before. What somewhat launched me into the role of advocating for community members or people in vulnerable situations were my children. Both of my children are autistic, and they showed me that I had a voice and a responsibility to use it in the public sphere. And in wanting to defend children in general, since I was often in the public eye and frequently criticizing the government, someone came knocking on my door. After my election to the National Assembly, I decided to be the voice for LGBTQ+ communities, to which I belong. I took on this role with all the energy possible to advance as many issues as I could with my government colleagues, » Jennifer explains.
I then asked her if, like me, she had noticed a complete change in the CAQ’s policy before and after the pandemic, and she strongly disagreed with me. « I don’t think so, I disagree with that. I think they are quite true to themselves, their colors are becoming more evident. They are increasingly arrogant, they have very right-wing positions, and they are somewhat aligned with what we are currently seeing globally. They are influenced by policies seen in the United States and also in China. They desperately want to please their base and make absurd decisions like the so-called Committee of the Wise (4 members appointed without consultation).
I am particularly upset about this committee because it resulted from a question from a journalist to the PQ. And now the government, to decide its policies towards LGBTQ+ people, forms this committee whose members are paid $120,000 per year in addition to their regular income. It is a waste of our money, to achieve what? We no longer even have a minister responsible for fighting homophobia, as we now fall under a mere Secretariat for the Status of Women, without any power. Before, at least, we fell under the Ministry of Justice, with the staff and budgets that came with it, » Jennifer explains clearly, knowing the issue well since this office for fighting homophobia was created by the Liberal government under Minister Stéphanie Vallée. She knows what she is talking about.
As for the future of the Pride movement and for LGBT people, if the Quebec government makes significant budget cuts, Jennifer is categorical: « The government thinks that its voters are cisgender, heterosexual, and that only these people vote for them. What I hope is that people who do not adhere to this limited and discriminatory vision will remember, in 2026, not to vote for the CAQ and to vote for an alternative. Because, if we rely on the CAQ government, everything related to pride or the rights of LGBTQ+ communities must be diluted, diminished. We have been in decline since 2018, and even though the government has legislated against conversion therapies, our social and health needs are more present than ever, and the current government is not interested in what we represent. » We could have published two more pages as Jennifer had so much information to share with us. We will return to this in 2024, that’s for sure. Thank you, Jennifer.