Nicole Bellerose

Orginally from Ahuntsic, Nicole Bellerose has lived in Laval for the past 30 years. An advisor in financial security, Mrs. Bellerose is once again the Québec Solidaire candidate in the riding of Mille-Îles. "I'm a hands-on type of woman. I've always learned by doing. And while raising my two girls, I also had to look after my mother and my two grandmothers. It's work, I don't mind telling you! I know what being a home care-giver is all about. I am in a good position to know that these care-giving people need help." This 60-year-old grandmother staunchly defends the middle class. "83% of the people of Quebec earn $50,000 or less," she says. "They are the one who are suffering and suffocating! They're the ones who have to be helped. Earning $40,000 does not make you poor, but if you're the head of a single-parent family, it's not much to live on!"

What would she do first, as a Member of the National Assembly? "Fight for affordable housing for the people," she promises. "There's also the problem of homelessness, which is growing in the riding, and which needs more attention. And community organizations in need of money, they too must be helped. I worked very hard as a member of the Parti Quebecois until the party's policies moved to the right, protecting big business interests." She worked with Françoise David long before the founding of the Québec Solidaire party. "The heart of our program is to go and get new revenues through the increase in corporate taxes and from those who are well off and can afford to pay higher taxes. We need more money for better jobs, better education, and better health, and to pay for prescription medication that costs too much."