Achi news desk-
Despite sharing the PQ party’s desire to make Quebec a state, Quebec Solidaire (QS) parliamentary leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois sharply criticized PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s speech, calling it “conservative”.
Over the weekend, St. Pierre Plamondon said the federal government “poses an existential threat” to Quebeckers.
According to Nadeau-Dubois, the PQ leader’s words were tinged with “sentiment”, “fear” and “disaster”.
“I even think that such a speech can alienate many young people from the independence project,” he said at a press briefing at the National Assembly on Tuesday.
Interim Liberal leader Mark Tanguay was equally vocal in his attack on his PQ rival, saying his speech was “grossly exaggerated”, “out of touch” and “radical”.
“It is clear that Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon (…) wants to exploit fear: fear that the French fact will die if Quebec does not secede; fear that today we are threatened more than ever by the federal government,” he said.
At the weekend, at his party’s national council in Drummondville, the PQ leader sharply criticized the federal government, accusing it of wanting to “crush those who refuse to assimilate.”
He also hinted that the next referendum he promises to hold in the PQ’s first mandate could very well be the last chance.
The PQ leader denied he was trying to intimidate voters.
“I am describing very verifiable facts. You have to distinguish between fear and facts,” he claimed. “I want to rise above partisanship.”
When asked if his speech was too harsh a description of Quebec’s situation, Saint-Pierre Plamondon said: “There is no doubt that there is a negative part in what I said, but the negative part comes from the decisions of the federal government, which I am just describing.”
Less strident than the QS and the Liberals, Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barret was eager to emphasize that his party, the CAQ, was making gains for Quebec, while the PQ was simply waiting for the big night of the referendum.
“We are not resigning like Mr. Saint-Pierre Plamondon and we are taking concrete action so that Quebec can benefit,” he said.
– This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 16, 2024.
