Parti Québécois leader hits back at Doug Ford for ‘disaster’ comment

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is putting on a “bad show” when he claims that the election of the Parti Québécois (PQ) would be a “disaster” for Canada.

That’s what PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon declared Thursday during a press scrum in Saint-Georges, in the Beauce region of Quebec.

He was responding to the Ontario premier, who for the past two days has been urging Quebecers to reject the PQ for the good of Canada.

“If he’s elected, believe me, within a year, a year-and-a-half, he’ll hold a referendum to separate from Canada. Unacceptable,” Ford insisted on Thursday, on the sidelines of a Council of the Federation meeting.

“Don’t elect a separatist party, because it’s going to be a disaster,” he added.

The day before, Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston had agreed with his Ontario counterpart. “I think breaking up Canada would be a disaster,” he commented.

“Unity is strength,” added New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt.

On Thursday, St-Pierre Plamondon said he expected “fear campaigns” and “defamatory attacks against the party to scare everyone.”

“It’s a bit of a caricature for the Premier of Ontario… and other premiers to suddenly appear on the Quebec political scene to tell Quebecers how to vote in a climate of panic.”

The Parti Québécois leader maintained that a sovereign Quebec would retain close ties with Canada. “We will always have a dialogue about what we have in common and what we can move forward,” he said.

The six Parti Québécois (PQ) members of the National Assembly are meeting in Saint-Georges, in the Beauce-Sud riding, to prepare for the parliamentary session that opens Feb. 3.

The Beauce riding, currently held by CAQ member Samuel Poulin, has never elected a PQ member. In the last election, the Conservatives came in second.

The PQ has been consulting with stakeholders in the region for some time now, with the aim of developing its platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), St-Pierre Plamondon indicated on Thursday.

“If we look at the projections, the PQ is still in the running,” he maintained. “We deserve credit for being very serious in our approach to promoting and protecting exporting businesses.

“We have a chance and we have ambitions for the Beauce region.”

According to him, the people of Beauce are wondering, in particular, whether it would be risky to increase their exports to China. They also want the government to reduce their tax burden.

“We’re serious, we’re listening to these businesses, and we’re going to align ourselves so that our platform is useful to them.”

The Parti Québécois leader also said he was open to offering “grandfather clauses” to some immigrants left behind by the discontinuation of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ).

Several regions of Quebec, including Beauce, are calling for such measures to meet their labour needs.

However, “let’s be clear: we can’t give a grandfather clause to all federal temporary workers and asylum seekers,” warned PSPP, citing, among other things, “the housing crisis” and “all the pressure on services.”

The PQ is holding a “citizens’ assembly” at a hotel in Saint-Georges on Thursday evening. Its pre-session caucus will continue on Friday.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews