New political parties would turn Quebec into a new Louisiana: Legault

Article content

QUEBEC — Two newly formed political parties would prefer Quebec to be bilingual, a move that is a sure ticket to becoming a new Louisiana, Premier François Legault said Tuesday.

Article content

“What these people want is to have a bilingual Quebec,” Legault told reporters. “If we want French to still be in place 50 and 100 years from now, we have to have Bill 96 and Bill 101.

“We need immigrants to go to French schools. What they have to understand is if Quebec is bilingual, unfortunately the attraction in North America to English will be so strong it will be a matter of time before we don’t speak French in Quebec and we become Louisiana.”

Legault was commenting on news that two new minority language rights parties, one to be called the Canadian Party of Quebec (CaPQ) and the other Mouvement Québec, are getting organized in time to field candidates in the fall general election.

Neither have been officially authorized by Quebec Elections, but have applications to obtain official party status. Both plan to run candidates throughout Quebec, but are targeting ridings in Montreal, the Townships and Outaouais because of the pockets of English-speaking Quebecers.

Article content

The announcement of the creation of the Canadian Party of Quebec was done via a press release published overnight Monday by Eastern Townships language activist Colin Standish. Former mayoralty candidate Balarama Holness announced last week that he was creating Mouvement Québec.

“Yes, the Canadian Party of Quebec/Parti canadien du Québec will be an unapologetically federalist party that tirelessly works for minority rights, socioeconomic justice and linguistic harmony,” Standish said.

The party’s platform will be based on six principles. They will be “rights are rights are rights, respecting the integrity of the Canadian constitution, bilingualism, educational choice, prosperity for all Quebecers, and rapprochement and reconciliation.”

Article content

The group says it intends to challenge what it describes as Quebec’s political orthodoxy and offers to “fill the void” felt by minority voters in the wake of overhauls of language legislation at the National Assembly (Bill 96) and in Ottawa and other legislation, such as Bill 21 on state secularism.

“The time has come to offer a voice to the voiceless,” especially Quebecers who feel betrayed and abandoned by the Coalition Avenir Québec and the Quebec Liberal Party,” Standish said.

The news took the traditional parties by surprise, but mostly risks rocking the boat of the struggling Liberals.

With Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade absent from the legislature for a speaking engagement Tuesday, it was up to Liberal house leader André Fortin to field the questions. He rapidly shifted the Liberal line of attack to a warning about vote-splitting.

Article content

“You may well end up with more people elected from the Coalition Avenir Québec,” Fortin told reporters. “If you want people here, in the assembly, who represent your views, if you want people who oppose those bills, then the Liberal Party represents your views.”

Reached Tuesday, Holness launched a few arrows at the new party, which will now be competing for similar voters with his party.

“It remains to be seen whether Montrealers will be inspired by Colin,” Holness said. “I think their policies are connected to the current political climate, but are they connected to the people? No lo creo.

“He’s from the Eastern Townships, has never lived in Montreal and won’t be campaigning in Montreal because he doesn’t live here. For me, this (other party) is a lot of noise.

Article content

I have noted his organization has a track record of being able to organize and debate issues from the last municipal campaign.

“Anyone can go and register a party and say we are against Bill 96,” Holness said. “I don’t think they have the bandwidth, the personnel and the credibility to make the kind of impact Mouvement Montréal had.”

Later, in an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Standish said he did not want to get into a feud with Holness, but noted his party’s policies are the result of discussions and debates in the community.

“We feel they are going to resonate with all Quebecers, French, English-speaking, newcomers and Indigenous. We have our plan. We’re confident. This is not a fly-by-night idea for us. It is intellectually and morally and legally sound principles.”

He challenged Legault’s views that French is in decline, noting 80 per cent of Quebecers are mother-tongue-French.

“The decline of French in Quebec is a myth,” Standish said.

Standish said the Canadian Party of Quebec will be officially launched some time in mid-May.

[email protected]

twitter.com/philipauthier