Rabbi Mark Fishman and wife Sarah Fishman watched the election unfold at their home in Dollard-des-Ormeaux and felt weeks of tension fade away.
“Quebecers took back the province last night,” Sarah Fishman said Tuesday morning. “We are over the moon.”
Her husband concurred.
“The result indicates that all the divisive talk (of the last weeks) was exactly the opposite of what the majority of Quebecers wanted,” he said.
The Fishmans, both in their mid-30s, have two children, a boy in kindergarten and a six-year-old girl.
Rabbi Fishman leads Congregation Beth Tikvah Ahvat Shalom Nusach Hoari in Dollard and Sarah Fishman is a psychologist.
They met in Israel where he was studying and she was working as a psychologist in a hospital trauma unit.
The couple returned to her hometown of Dollard four years ago and Rabbi Fishman took over the job of leader of the congregation on July 1, 2013.
“Premier Philippe Couillard has a big job to do,” Sarah Fishman said. “Feelings have been deeply hurt. The campaign brought out the bad in people and, in the end, the good in people.
“But if the poise (Couillard) demonstrated on the campaign trail is any indication, he’s up for the job.”
Rabbi Fishman would like to see the new government focus on building bridges between the different communities, upgrading the infrastructure and nurturing trust.
“The Parti Québécois government tore the fabric of civil society and that needs to be mended,” he said. “And people are looking for a safer infrastructure and a stronger economy. It isn’t right to be driving in fear of crumbling highways and (overpasses). And every time we hear talk of corruption, it eats away at our trust of politicians.”
kgreenaway@montrealgazette.com