Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock …

As Christine Fréchette was delivering her first inaugural speech as Quebec premier at the National Assembly this week, seconds were ticking away on the old clock atop the Salon Rouge’s large wooden doors.

A powerful reminder that, despite an ambitious legislative agenda, the new premier will have very little time to bring her government’s projects to life — and to leave her mark on the Coalition Avenir Québec — before the session adjourns in June for the summer.

That’s one of the main reasons why since she was officially sworn in, Fréchette has appeared hyperactive on the ground. Between a trip to Washington, D.C., the appointment of a new cabinet and the announcement of major investments to rebuild the crumbling Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital, François Legault’s successor has found time to lay out her government’s priorities for the coming weeks.

And the list is hefty: from energy and critical minerals to labour........

© Montreal Gazette