Ideas being bandied about
Ideas like giving non-citizens the right to vote in municipal elections, and doing something at the city level to control commercial rents, are being bandied about.
So is the Parti Québécois ideal of denying English CEGEP to francophones and allophones – which 1. assumes the PQ will return to power and 2. assumes you can frame a law to control where people of adult age choose to get their education.
Ephraim 19:44 on 2021-04-18 Permalink
People going into CEGEP are adults…. not children. So, will this end with a lawsuit or with an exodus of people to other province preparatory programs?
Can someone explain why condo/co-op strata vote by the square foot, yet municipal elections are by tenancy? And the more people in the house, the more influence on the vote, so the rich may actually have less of a vote even though they pay higher taxes and receive the same services? Do commercial property owners get to vote? Does everyone in the household vote? So how is there equity when commercial properties pay 5X the tax than residents do? And what does citizenship have anything to do with tenancy? We have consular offices in Montreal, do they not have a right when they certainly have tenancy.
Tim 21:11 on 2021-04-18 Permalink
@Ephraim: do you have direct knowledge of voting by square footage? Usually fees are paid this way, but I have never heard of that for voting. Counting votes would be very difficult with decimals…
Ephraim 21:24 on 2021-04-18 Permalink
@Tim – It may have changed, but at one time that was the rule and there was a BIG fight in a few of the condo buildings where the penthouse were enormous and there were a lot of smaller apartments on the lower floors and the cable packages, for example. You know, 4 apartments at the top having the same weight as 20 or more apartments at the bottom. It’s one reason why buildings with too much variety in the size of apartments are problematic. Co-property is definitely by percentage owned… someone owning 50.1% of the property can do what they want.
Spi 22:16 on 2021-04-18 Permalink
Some condo boards (potentially all?) require a double majority to enact certain changes to their bylaws or major decisions. A supermajority of tenants representing a supermajority of the square footage. In that situation, more affluent residents in larger units hold more importance in tipping the balance.
Joey 22:24 on 2021-04-18 Permalink
@Tim read your declaration of co-property. It should detail how many fractions each unit has and how that translates into votes. Quebec law stipulates supermajorities for certain decisions. Other decisions, such as budget/fee adoption, are the exclusive purview of the board, and cannot be decided by the assembly of co-owners.
vasi 00:11 on 2021-04-19 Permalink
I’m not in favour of the PQ’s idea, but surely it’s legal for the province to decide which CEGEPs to fund. I imagine that, just as with K12, allophones/francophones could still pay for private English CEGEP.
Myles 08:28 on 2021-04-19 Permalink
@Ephaim : They’re completely different things. A condo is a private property. Municipal elections are democratic elections of our governing officials. One person, one vote. To base the right to vote on property ownership would be sliding back into feudalism.
Tim 08:38 on 2021-04-19 Permalink
Good comments all. I was on the board for my building for a number of years. Most people have no idea how things really work. The votes to “approve” the budget and projects at the AGM each year were purely symbolic. At the end of the day, if you are unhappy with the board the best you can do is vote them out and then take on the responsibility yourself.
Kate 09:38 on 2021-04-19 Permalink
vasi, Quebec could have chosen decades ago to cut off all funding to English-language education. To be honest, I don’t know why they didn’t. But they’re not talking about cutting funding to the CEGEPs, merely barring many people from applying and attending.
Ephraim 09:41 on 2021-04-19 Permalink
@Myles – So is a business and a home, private property. Businesses don’t even get a vote and yet they are paying even more of the taxes. And then we need to go into the democracy model itself.
@vasi – They absolutely can cut off money. The question is, do they have a right to tell adults what to do and where to study? And, law of unintended consequences, what will they do if you do. Will this leave to a flight of people to other provinces and therefore affect Quebec’s long term? Having people study elsewhere increases the chances that they will settle elsewhere, with their education and their tax-paying money.
Kate 11:12 on 2021-04-19 Permalink
Wait a sec, Ephraim. Business and property owners who don’t live in Montreal can certainly vote in municipal elections here. I’m busy and don’t have time to look up the laws, but I have worked in the elections and it was so.
Ephraim 12:26 on 2021-04-19 Permalink
@Kate – Can they? I haven’t seen documentation on WHO can vote.
One interesting piece of data that I did see, which might help people better understand why even the Plateau isn’t unified is Transport… Mile End is 19.5% by foot, DeLormier is 15% by foot, but Jeanne Mance is 30.9% by foot. I’d love to see where the cyclists in JM are, because they aren’t in my part of JM. This area is really foot and public transit. Even cars are low.
Uatu 13:51 on 2021-04-19 Permalink
Re cegeps- they’re just creating a 2 tiered system. Those with money will just send the kids out of province or pay to get them into marianopolis while the rest are shit out of luck
dwgs 14:15 on 2021-04-19 Permalink
That 2 tiered system already exists, it begins in high school. If I had to do it all over again no way would I send my kids to public high schools.