Opposition parties slam CAQ’s Quebec constitution bill

The Minister of Justice and Canadian Relations Simon Jolin-Barrette’s Quebec constitution bill has met with unanimous opposition in the National Assembly. The three opposition parties have harshly criticized the government’s approach.

Liberal leader Pablo Rodriguez denounced a “flawed process.”

“This is a project that should seek to unite, not divide. That means we shouldn’t have a draft written on a piece of paper and then brought before the National Assembly to be part of a political debate where it will become polarized. A constitution must be a project that unites,” he said at a press conference Tuesday at the National Assembly.

Rodriguez reiterated that he was in favor of the idea of a constitution.

In a video posted Monday on social media platform X, Jolin-Barrette announced that he would be tabling his draft Quebec constitution in the coming days in order to “strengthen” the province’s autonomy and institutions.

“This constitution will be both a mirror and a shield for the Quebec nation. It will reflect Quebec as we have received it from previous generations and as it should be tomorrow: proud, strong, and united,” he said.

Jolin-Barrette’s initiative follows the work of the Advisory Committee on Constitutional Issues, which tabled its report last November.

The report’s first recommendation was to give Quebec a constitution with the aim of increasing the province’s autonomy within Canada. The committee also stated that “the process must be nonpartisan.”

According to Rodriguez, it would be a “historic mistake” to adopt this constitution without the support of the other parties in the National Assembly.

No need for a “provincial constitution”

Québec Solidaire (QS) also opposes the Coalition Avenir Québec’s (CAQ) constitutional project.

“We don’t need a constitution written in Simon Jolin-Barrette’s office, a provincial constitution,” said Ruba Ghazal at a press conference on Tuesday.

QS is proposing instead a constituent assembly whose mandate would be to draft a constitution for Quebec as a country. It would then hold a referendum on independence.

According to Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, adopting a Quebec constitution will change nothing as long as Quebec remains part of the Canadian federation.

“If we just pass a law in Quebec and call it a constitution, the legal reality is that it will not give Quebec any additional autonomy. It doesn’t change anything in terms of our powers. Nor does it change anything in terms of abuse of power under the Canadian constitution. In short, it means that the federal government will continue to interfere in Quebec’s areas of jurisdiction,” he argued.

The PQ, for its part, is committed to implementing “a transitional constitution as soon as it comes to power.”

This will then lead to “consultations with other parties, civil society, and First Nations with a view to drafting Quebec’s permanent constitution once Quebec’s independence has been proclaimed.”

The PQ is expected to make its constitutional proposal public in the coming weeks as part of the presentation of the chapters of its blue book.

Premier François Legault said he was surprised by the PQ leader’s reaction to the Quebec constitution.

“When I was in the PQ, I saw several PQ members working on a constitution for Quebec within Canada. I think it’s important to move the Quebec nation forward and not just wait for the big night of sovereignty and the referendum,” he said in a brief press scrum on Tuesday.

Jolin-Barrette assured that he wants to collaborate with the other parties “in the best interests of Quebec.”

“It is important for the Quebec nation to have a constitution. I will work with all my colleagues here in the National Assembly,” he said.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews