Quebec liberals on Monday accused the Avenir Quebec (CAQ) coalition of a sovereignist agenda, saying the party wanted to hold a referendum on Quebec’s independence.
This was the issue of the day in the National Assembly, as the Liberal (QLP) MNA Mark Tanguay took charge.
“Do you really think Francois Lego will miss his chance? I don’t think so. It’s obvious,” Tanguay said. “Francois Lego was one of the most devoted separatists when he was with [Parti Quebecois]”
CAQ has denied the allegations, with French Foreign Minister Simon Jolin Barrett reaffirming the party’s view that Quebec is part of Canada.
In the run-up to the last election, Lego himself said the CAQ government would never hold a referendum on Quebec’s independence.
“I am clear in French and English: the CAQ government will never hold a referendum on sovereignty. Neither in the first term, nor in the second. Never “, were his words in August 2018.
But Tanguay did not buy it, claiming that the CAQ would hold a new referendum when the time came.
He believes the CAQ’s avoidance of the provocative “R-word” – a referendum – is the “new strategy” to separate Quebec from the rest of the nation.
Meanwhile, the Quebecois Party (PQ) – a party with a huge goal of sovereignty – was concerned about the CAQ’s avoidance of the “S-word”.
“Obviously, they can’t even say a word [sovereignity]”PQ leader Pierre Plamondon said.” It’s so hard for them to even mention this possibility.
The comments follow the prime minister’s recent announcement of two new CAQ candidates, Bernard Drainville and Caroline St. Hillary, both of whom have ties to the sovereignist movement.
Although Drainville is a former PQ minister, he has since expressed support for the CAQ’s “nationalist” approach, which he describes as a struggle for a stronger Quebec in Canada.
He said Quebecers no longer had an “appetite” for the sovereignty debate.
“I have always been a nationalist above all, and I have taken stock of the fact that Quebecers have gone beyond this debate,” he said on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Lego also announced the candidacy of Caroline St. Hilaire, a former minister from the Quebec Bloc.
St-Hilaire is known to be a staunch sovereign and has openly criticized the Lego government’s priorities in the past.
Quebec has already held two referendums on the issue, once in 1980 and again in 1995. In both cases, a small majority of Quebecers voted “no” for independence.
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