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Incumbent Bloc Québécois MP for Papineau Vivian Barbot, who hopes to hold onto her seat, which is also being sought by the Liberals' Justin Trudeau, says she has yet to hear the neophyte politician make a statement to the media that is worth commenting on, although she says she's not impressed so far by his knowledge of political issues.
Defeated Pettigrew
In an interview with NPEN following a recent campaign stop by Bloc leader Gilles Duceppe at Barbot's Jean Talon Street E. campaign office, Barbot was asked whether she expected any animosity to break out during this election between the Liberals and the Bloc, who won this longtime Liberal fortress in 2006, when Barbot defeated former Liberal cabinet minister Pierre Pettigrew.
"The last time, we had Mr. Pettigrew, the minister of foreign affairs, it had the effect that a lot of journalists came in from outside and there was a lot of interest," she said. "No doubt, Mr. Trudeau is also going to have that effect. But up to now, it's only the Trudeau name that is attracting them. We still need to know what he plans to put on the table, how he plans to address the people of Papineau, and that he's not just using Papineau as a launch pad, as it is being said."
Father's views?
Since winning the Liberal nomination last year to run in Papineau, Trudeau voiced some of his concerns about Canadian unity — most notably on the Quebec Nation motion, a resolution that was passed by the minority Conservative government two years ago during the last Parliamentary session, with the support of the other parties.
"The whole idea of special status for Quebec, or recognizing that Quebec is a distinct society within the constitution, or recognizing that it's a nation of Québécois, the problem I have with that is it creates divisions, it separates groups within groups," Trudeau had told NPEN at the time. The comments reflected some of the ideas of his father, the late Liberal prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who is viewed dimly by supporters of Quebec sovereignty.
'Who is Trudeau?' – Barbot
Barbot, who was reminded last week of Justin Trudeau's political legacy given the reputation and stature of his father, said, "Sometimes he cites the ideas of this father, but he does not cite them correctly. So it would seem that even there, there is a misunderstanding of who is Trudeau in terms of politics. Yesterday I heard Mr. Trudeau say on the radio that he did not want to play politics. So I thought it was perhaps a question of the words he used. Maybe he meant to say polemics … There's something not clear there.
Focus on Papineau
"There are elements he doesn't seem to understand at all, and I am anxious for him to understand a little better what an electoral campaign is," she added. "There's more to it than just saying 'Here I am. I am the son of my father.'" Barbot agreed there is likely to be more attention focused on Papineau during this election, not only because of what Justin Trudeau represents, but also because of the riding's importance for the Liberals and the Bloc Québécois. "Before I was here, it had been Liberal for several decades," she said. "It's only normal that there would be all this attention."
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