Vive le Québec dépendant!
Today in an important vote-grab, er, press conference, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard announced that over the next ten years, Quebec would receive $5 billion in federal funding for the province’s infrastructure. This money, which will be provided from the Federal Gas Tax, will be used to develop athletic and cultural infrastructure, and hopefully to improve Montreal’s abysmal street conditions.
Would you like some road with those potholes?
Paul Chasson
Although $5 billion is a lot of money, it’s not groundbreaking. This press conference was less an announcement on improving infrastructure, and more an announcement on increasing the love between Quebec and the federal government. This latest development comes after several months of bromantic courting between the two leaders. After Couillard was elected Premier in April, Harper swifty met with him in Quebec City, and in May, Harper asked Couillard for assistance in finding a new Quebecois Supreme Court Justice.
It’s just so cute.
After the reign of the chronically-antagonizing Pauline Marois, Premier Couillard is a breath of fresh air for the Federal Government, and not only is this a great opportunity for Harper to make ties with the leader of Quebec, but it doubles down as a way for him to make nice with his French-Canadian constituents. In 2011, his party only won five out of 75 seats in the entire province after Jack Layton’s NDPs nearly swept the entire Quebecois populace.
Whatever the devilish motive, we just hope this new partnership means more cooperative involvement for the two frenemy governments, and for my car’s sake, less potholes in MTL.