A PQ government will be sensitive to anglophones’ needs, lea…

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VICTORIAVILLE — A Parti Québécois government will be particularly sensitive to the needs of Quebec’s English-speaking population, party leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said Sunday.

Responding to a reporter’s questions about a motion to be debated that calls on PQ MNAs in the legislature to only speak French in answering questions from English media — something he said he doesn’t agree with — St-Pierre Plamondon outlined a bit of his vision for minorities.

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“It’s (using English) recognition that institutions that serve English-speaking Quebecers are very important,” St-Pierre Plamondon said. “For me it’s not an issue. One question that is important and fundamental for English-speaking Quebecers regarding the independence of Quebec is ‘what will our status be, will there be any changes to our daily life.’

“The answer to that is we’ll not only make sure everything that works right now continues, but we’re going to be very sensitive to the status of our minority.

“I’ve always campaigned to all Quebecers about this project of independence. We have the same interests — taking back $82 billion (and putting it) in our budget and making sounder choices is the smart thing to do for everyone.

“Obviously, the PQ will continue to collaborate and respect institutions of English-speaking Quebecers.”

St-Pierre Plamondon made the remarks at a news conference kicking off a one-day party national council in Victoriaville in the Bois-Francs region. More specifically, the event is being held in the riding of Arthabaska, one the PQ hopes to win back from the Coalition Avenir Québec.

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He was commenting on a motion up for debate in the afternoon of the council. Proposed by the riding of Saint-Rose, it calls on the parliamentary wing of the party (the MNAs) “to answer in French to questions from anglophone media during news conferences.”

The PQ has four MNAs in the legislature and they all answer questions from English media in English on a daily basis. Politicians in other parties, including Premier François Legault, do the same

Recalling party founder René Lévesque himself always responded in English to questions from English media (as did all of his successors, including Jacques Parizeau), St-Pierre Plamondon said he did not agree with the motion that now appears destined to fail.

The PQ’s political policy committee has also said it does not approve of the motion.

“Nobody is ever going to prevent me from answering questions in English,” St-Pierre Plamondon, a McGill graduate, told reporters in flawless English. “René Lévesque did that, the PQ has always done that but, most importantly, we need to behave the way we visualize Quebec as a country.

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“Of course, I’ll be answering questions in English to media who need that answer in English for their TV, radio and written reports.”

The council, which has drawn about 500 members to Victoriaville on a sunny Sunday, comes as the party continues to dominate public-opinion polls, mostly at the expense of the CAQ, which is struggling.

A Léger poll conducted for the Québécor media conglomerate found the CAQ at 21 per cent, a drop of three points since October, while support for the PQ reached 35 per cent, a jump of three points since last month.

With 21-per-cent support, the CAQ is where it was back in 2016, two years before it took power. It’s the lowest support it has had in eight years.

The challenge for St-Pierre Plamondon is to maintain that level for the two remaining years before the election. One strategy the PQ will use is to show Quebecers, beyond promising a referendum on independence, the PQ will be ready to govern.

Hence, this weekend’s focus on health care and what the PQ would do about the ailing system. On Sunday, the council is to hear from a panel of experts on what they feel needs to be done beyond structural reforms to actually improve the health of Quebecers.

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At his news conference, St-Pierre Plamondon was clearer than he has ever been on the future of the agency the CAQ government has created to run the system, santé Québec.

After saying for months the agency, which starts work officially Dec. 1, must not become a way for politicians like Health Minister Christian Dubé to avoid tough questions, St-Pierre Plamondon went further Sunday, saying it also cannot become a kind of shield for the government to use to disguise budget cuts.

Radio Canada recently reported that Quebec’s deputy health minister, Daniel Paré, had written to the directors of all of Quebec’s regional health directors asking them to trim $1 billion in administrative costs from the network. Health care estbalishments fear this could affect the quality of services.

He said the PQ was willing to give the agency a chance to get working to see if it is effective, but a series of recent interviews granted by the agency president, Geneviève Biron, have not inspired confidence.

“One of the flaws with the agency is being accountable to the people it serves,” added PQ health critic Joël Arseneau at the same news conference. “Democratic mechanisms of the health-care system have been completely abolished.

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“It’s a historical centralization of decisions that we will have to overturn. Will that need to be done by abolishing the agency, we’ll see.”

Asked if a PQ government would consider abolishing the agency, St-Pierre Plamondon said: “Everything is on the table.”

The council was also marked by the return of the party executive committee member, Vincent Boulay, who was suspended last week from the PQ policy commission and from all elected roles for a period of two years for a breach of the PQ’s code of ethics and communications policy.

He was accused of sharing confidential information to the press. He vigorously disputes the accusations.

Boulay remains a member of the PQ, but arrived at the council wearing an observer badge, which means he is not allowed to address the council. Boulay said he was forced to take observer status because the party decision came down the day after the deadline to apply to attend the council as a riding member.

Boulay repeated to the media he feels the punishment was too harsh.

“It’s like shooting a fly with a bazooka,” he said. “I think it’s really harsh. The only other case where I’ve seen people expelled like this were (connected to) criminal cases.”

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Boulay said there are other people who share his concerns about the way the party leadership acted towars him. He did not name anyone.

But the PQ is increasing focused on the next election.

On Thursday, St-Pierre Plamondon moved to shore up the PQ’s plans for the economy. Appearing at a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, St-Pierre Plamondon said a PQ government would ditch the CAQ’s strategy of investing in large multinationals and instead focus on helping small- and medium-size businesses.

Those companies would get a greater share of Quebec’s precious hydro resources to help them steer away from fossil fuels.

He again quoted a study on the finances of an independent Quebec, telling his audience Quebec would have an additional $82 billion in hand once it cuts service duplications with the federal government and stops sending half of its tax revenues to Ottawa.

St-Pierre Plamondon also criticized Legault for not calling a byelection in the riding of Terrebonne to replace Pierre Fitzgibbon.

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