Photo: Jacques Boissinot The Canadian Press “I ask the Prime Minister to commit […], if for the umpteenth time the door closes in his face, to trigger this popular consultation on the repatriation of full immigration powers. In which case, I will be at his side,” said Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
If François Legault does indeed trigger a sectoral referendum on immigration this summer, the Parti Québécois will be at his side, proclaimed PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon on Wednesday.
“There is a final meeting with Justin Trudeau [on June 30]. I ask the Prime Minister to commit […], if for the umpteenth time the door closes in his face, to trigger this popular consultation on the repatriation of full immigration powers. In which case, I will be at his side,” said the leader of the third opposition group, during a press briefing at the National Assembly.
The day before, Prime Minister Legault had revived the idea of holding a sectoral referendum on immigration to ask Quebecers if they wanted, for example, “that temporary immigrants [be] pre-approved by Quebec”.
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“It will depend on the results of the discussions. Mr. Trudeau has an obligation to achieve results,” he said.
In a meeting with the Prime Minister of Canada last month, Mr. Legault said he felt an “openness” on several issues, such as the Frenchification of temporary workers and the reduction in the number of asylum seekers housed in Quebec. That day, however, Mr. Trudeau had said no across the board to repatriating all immigration powers to Quebec.
However, this is precisely what a possible sectoral referendum on immigration should focus on, said Paul St-Pierre Plamondon on Wednesday.
“I reiterate that here, we should really look at the options. I offer him my support [à François Legault], in this. “It's not the idea of the Parti Québécois, but it's still a way for Quebec to make itself heard on an issue which, in the opinion of the Prime Minister himself, is fundamental,” he said. 'elected PQ, Wednesday.
Expected “advances”
Accosted at her entrance to the Salon Bleu on Wednesday, the Quebec Minister of Immigration once again refused to rule out a possible sectoral referendum. With less than two months to go before the “deadline” imposed on Ottawa as part of its discussions on immigration, she expects a series of “clear and clear progress”.
“It is, for example, progress in terms of integrating language requirements into federal programs, progress, above all, in terms of reducing non-permanent residents, that is essential,” she said.
In Ottawa, the federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, said he was “hopeful” to find common ground without the Legault government holding a referendum on the granting of full powers in immigration to Quebec.
“Is it going to be all the things Mr. Legault asks for ? Surely, no. But, I think there are places where we can improve what we have done,” he said in a press scrum in the corridors of the federal parliament on Wednesday morning.
It is up to Mr. Legault “to continue or stop this referendum flame”, he clarified. Could you possibly lead the No camp… ? “That’s nonsense,” Mr. Miller retorted before heading towards a meeting room.
The interim leader of the Quebec Liberal Party, Marc Tanguay, also refused to comment on this “hypothetical” question on Wednesday. By evaluating a popular consultation proposal, François Legault, however, reveals his cards, he said. “The PQ chicane has become the CAQ chicane,” said the Montreal elected official.
Québec solidaire, for its part, avoided siding with any camp, while specifying that it was for the repatriation of immigration powers. “We’re not there at all,” said Sherbrooke MP Christine Labrie when asked about her party’s position in an immigration referendum.
“We at Québec Solidaire would like to have all the powers over immigration. But what we see before us is a prime minister who is not even using all the powers he has access to at the moment,” she added.
With Marco Bélair-Cirino