Louise Harel watch

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/look+Harel+record/1662995/story.html

anglo-basher (critics of megacities are anglo colonialists), ignoring Franco anti-mergerites

opportunist (took over established party without a leadership debate); but will be "coronated" later

borough powers are regulated by the province, not the city (as she wishes)

architect of the megacity by fiat, not referendum; refused consultation on the issue; her party (PQ) had not run on the issue, even disavowed it

set up commission to study megacity proposal; when it recommended against it, she ignored it

Her good examples:
* Boston: in reality, that area had many more munis than MTL
* Europe (34 countries had passed laws against forced mergers)
* Toronto (costs had risen, not fallen)
* would curb urban sprawl (has not)
* would redistribute wealth (was not the best way to do so)

supports super-majority requirements to leave the megacity (but leaving Canada requires a simple majority)

a centralist, says the boroughs are too powerful ["quasi-villes"]

a unilingualist in a cosmopolitan city

an "evil sovereignist" (selon Fagstein)

Fair (voting) stinkum

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/over+first+past+post/1581824/story.html

The matter gets chewed over in this province now and then, but typically nothing gets done; the PQ has parked it among things to be done after independence is achieved ...

Duff Conacher, of the advocacy group Democracy Watch, notes that surveys show that only half of voters have a problem with the current voting system and that a greater turnoff for voters is the level of mendacity, unaccountability and tolerance of corruption in politics today.