(Brossard) François Legault is coming under fire from his opponents for having accused the Atikamekw community and those close to Joyce Echaquan of wanting to “have a debate on words” rather than “solve the problems on the ground”.
Updated yesterday at 11:19 p.m.
During the Face to face Thursday evening, François Legault argued that “the problem that happened with Mme Joyce at Joliette Hospital is now settled”. This statement angered the Atikamekw Nation.
According to her, Mr. Legault “sends the message that […] now everything is perfect”, when it is not. M’s familyme Echaquan said she was stunned that Mr. Legault supported his statements by arguing that he had met the spouse of the deceased, Carol Dubé. Rather, they crossed paths by chance, according to the family lawyer, who criticizes Mr. Legault for putting “words in the mouth” of Mr. Dubé “for purely electoral purposes”.
In response, on Saturday, François Legault expressed no regrets about his exit during the leaders’ debate. He pleaded that “the situation has completely improved at the Joliette hospital”, in particular with the hiring of native liaison officers.
“Now that doesn’t mean there aren’t other hospitals in Quebec where there’s work to be done,” he added.
He continued by blaming the Atikamekw community and the relatives of the deceased. “What I saw in the article [portant sur la réaction de la communauté], is that they want to come back to the issue of systemic racism. So they want to have a debate of words instead of making sure that we solve the problems on the ground, ”he said.
Lack of sensitivity
For the liberal leader, Dominique Anglade, François Legault says “anything” and once again proves his “disconnection”. “It’s a total lack of sensitivity, a lack of understanding of the issues [autochtones] and above all to think that it’s settled because there were two, three phone calls that were made and two, three cases put in place… It’s absurd, ”she lamented on Sunday. in Shawinigan. According to her, to “solve a problem”, it is necessary to sit down and discuss – “nation to nation”, in this case. “It’s also the way we have to think about reconciliation and our relationship with First Nations,” she added.
On the side of Quebec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois judges that the reaction of Mr. Legault is “unworthy”. “It’s insensitive, it lacks compassion, it’s cold […]. In 2022, what we need is a prime minister who reaches out to indigenous peoples, not who points the finger at them and blames them, ”he pleaded. “Me, if I had said something like that, it would have taken half an hour and I would have apologized. »
For the PQ leader, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the words of François Legault show that “the question is not important for him”.
Remember that Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw, died in 2020 without getting the help she needed at the Joliette hospital. She had filmed live on Facebook nurses throwing racist insults at her. The following year, coroner Géhane Kamel concluded that to prevent such a tragedy from happening again, the Legault government had to “recognize the existence of systemic racism” and make “a commitment to contribute to its elimination”.
With Fanny Lévesque, Hugo Pilon-Larose and Charles Lecavalier, The Press