Jacques Boissinot The Canadian Press “It is certain that we will never abandon the fight for individual freedoms, civil rights and then democracy which have been too much violated during the last three years in Quebec. We will never give up on that!”, energetically launched conservative leader Éric Duhaime during his speech to the PCQ National Congress on Saturday in Lévis.
The Conservative Party of Quebec (PCQ) is not ready to put aside the theme of the pandemic which propelled its growth. A year and a half after the lifting of the state of health emergency, the subject continues to occupy pride of place at its national congress held in Lévis.
With proposals on energy, health and the constitution, Congress aims to combine its DNA with other subjects. But in his speech on Saturday, chef Éric Duhaime wanted to emphasize that the theme of the pandemic would remain present.
“It is certain that we will never abandon the fight for individual freedoms, civil rights and then democracy which have been too much violated during the last three years in Quebec. We will never give up on this! “, he said energetically. A passage which earned him some of the loudest applause during his speech.
Mr. Duhaime nonetheless mocked “columnists” who described his party as “the party of one cause.” “It is true that it is a bond that unites us but it is much more than that, the PCQ”, declared in his speech.
The Party also invited as a speaker to the Congress the professor Patrick Provost who was suspended from Laval University during the pandemic because of his anti-vaccine comments. Saturday noon, his speech on the theme of scientific freedom earned him a standing ovation from the delegates.
Party members must also debate proposals on Sunday linked to the experience of the pandemic.
It is proposed to “include the primacy of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms” in the Health Act public and that any government must have the support of at least 80% of deputies to extend the state of emergency for more than 30 days.
Earlier this week, chef Éric Duhaime took advantage of the release of Catherine Dorion's book to criticize her, despite her rebellious speeches, for not having openly criticized the state of health emergency during the pandemic.
< h2 class="h2-intertitre">Legault also talks about it again
Saturday, Prime Minister François Legault also spoke on the subject by emphasizing, on the X platform, that excess mortality in Quebec had been much less than in the rest of Canada and the United States between March 2020 and December 2022. “We saved between 10,000 and 20,000 people thanks to our measures and vaccination,” he said. he writes.
The latest data from Public Health on the impacts of COVID-19 measures??? ? pic.twitter.com/xAbYSdn13r
— François Legault (@francoislegault) November 18, 2023
This is the second time this week that the Prime Minister has attracted the attention of the population on this public health data.
The state of health emergency in Quebec was lifted in June 2022.