The President of the National Assembly, Nathalie Roy, defended, on Wednesday, the 36 missions carried out by elected officials around the world in the last year.
She delivered a statement, however refusing to answer questions concerning transparency and details of parliamentarians’ expenses.
Quebecor media revealed on Wednesday that since the end of the pandemic, the missions of elected officials around the world have resumed with a vengeance.
Among other things, in July 2023, six deputies and four employees of the National Assembly participated in the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie (APF), in Tbilisi, Georgia, a country which nevertheless has very few French speakers.
This mission cost more than $100,000. And for the whole of 2023-2024, the bill would amount to more than $700,000.
“The Empty Chair Game”
“I am very, very proud to be the official representative of the National Assembly of Quebec on the international scene, just like the 124 other parliamentarians,” argued Ms. Roy, before going to question period Wednesday morning .
According to her, MPs have a duty to take part in international forums, otherwise others will rush to take their place and speak on their behalf.
“When Quebec plays the empty chair game, it is the elected officials of Ottawa and the senators of Ottawa who take the place and who speak for Quebec. For me, this is not a good situation. »
Quebec must assume its role abroad, but in a context of budgetary rigor, we must be concerned about the use of public funds, suggested the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, with a certain caution: The National Assembly is independent from the government.
“We still have to ask ourselves the question about each of the missions, each of the budget items to see if we can optimize while respecting the objectives, that is to say having a presence abroad. »
Liberal MP Madwa-Nika Cadet justified her presence at the APF in Tbilisi, explaining in particular that each of an elected official’s participation in a forum abroad is justified in advance by a notice of relevance.
“I am proud that the National Assembly, I am proud that the Quebec deputies participated in the APF,” she said in the press scrum.
As part of her achievements, she prepared a draft opinion on the mobility of young people in the French-speaking area, she indicated.
As for the opacity on the reasons for the missions and on the disclosure of the details of the expenses, Madwa-Nika Cadet said she was not aware of it.
“I think there is a discussion that may be interesting in the National Assembly as to what must be revealed. It was my understanding that it was already public. »
The government’s deputy parliamentary leader, Mathieu Lévesque, who took part in a mission to Brazil last year, the annual conference of the National Union of Legislative Assemblies of the Federated States of Brazil, refused to answer journalists’ questions on Wednesday Morning.
No mission for QS and PQ
Québec solidaire and the Parti Québécois recalled that their deputies had not participated in any of the missions in this legislature.
“My priority is Quebec,” said PQ MP Pascal Bérubé. I have always said that before serving Paris, we will serve Lévis. »
His colleague Pascal Paradis, however, added that Quebec needed a strong presence abroad.
“It is an influence which has economic repercussions, which has social, cultural and political repercussions. So these missions are important. »
There is nevertheless “rigorous work” to be done on each mission, regarding its relevance and its costs, he added.
“Quebecers must know what is happening, what the objectives are, why we are carrying out the missions. »
All the missions and their reports can be found under the “diplomacy” tab of the National Assembly website.
At the end of the reports, there is a total expenditure for each participant, with expenditure items, but without the details of the invoices.