For Soulanges.

Because Soulanges offers a quality of life unlike anywhere else in Quebec — one I want to help protect by working hand in hand with the public, private and community organizations that keep this region thriving. Today's rapid growth is putting enormous pressure on our communities, our services and our infrastructure.

As executive director of the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation for nearly five years, I worked closely with teachers, ministers, municipal officials, school service centres, unions, businesses, donors and the media to broaden access to quality education in schools. That experience taught me that good public policy grows out of a close understanding of what people actually live — not from a vision imposed from above.

In Soulanges, the challenges that come with growth are significant, among them:

• Roads that are busier every year, with limited public transit options;
• Housing that is increasingly out of reach, alongside rising isolation and homelessness;
• Municipal infrastructure upkeep and new schools that require far more funding; and
• Farmland steadily eaten away by various developments.

The upcoming opening of the Vaudreuil-Soulanges hospital will add further pressure on local hiring, housing and transportation. These are challenges I want to take on, with the same rigour and the same willingness to listen that I brought to education.

That is why I have been criss-crossing Soulanges seven days a week since my nomination on May 19 — from Pointe-Fortune to Rivière-Beaudette, from Pointe-des-Cascades to Sainte-Justine-de-Newton — to speak with as many residents as possible and understand the realities and issues facing our 16 municipalities.

What I want to bring is solid experience, genuine listening, and a commitment to truly understand what Soulanges needs.

For my family, Soulanges means years of happy memories built with our children in places like the Village des Écluses, Citrouilleville, the Saint-Zotique beach, the Hudson orchard, Sucrerie des Gallants and Arbraska. In 2021, we took steps to move to Saint-Lazare, looking for more space and a shorter commute for my partner to her business associate who lives here. The plan had to be postponed because of health issues in the family, and we currently live in the West Island. Real estate prices climbed quickly in the meantime, which slowed things down. But we are now setting the plan back in motion, so we can take full part in the life of this region we have come to love.

Running here is a deliberate choice, and I hope to have the chance to earn your trust.