After having produced a recovery plan that “makes you dream”, the two co-presidents of the reflection committee on the future of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), André Pratte and Madwa-Nika Cadet, are closing the door on a candidacy. to the chiefdom.
“I have no intention of running,” Mr. Pratte told DutyThursday, a few minutes after presenting a few minutes earlier the final report of the Committee on Recovery that he had co-led since the spring with the member for Bourassa-Sauvé, Madwa-Nika Cadet.
“I think there will be high-quality candidates, I have no doubt,” said Mr. Pratte, who had nevertheless thought about this possibility in 2019, before the accession to the position of chef of Dominique Anglade . “Between being a candidate for the leadership and wanting to push the ideas that are in the report, there is a big difference. »
Earlier, Mr. Pratte had praised the “ambitious objectives” scattered in the 80-page report which will be presented to party members in general council this weekend. “We are taking a new step. This is what we are proposing in our report. […] I think it could make Quebecers dream. Quebecers are ambitious, daring, entrepreneurial people, and this is what we are offering them as a social project,” he said during a press conference in Montreal.
Mme Cadet, for his part, had already given up on the leadership race, the details and rules of which will be revealed this weekend in Drummondville. Producing the report on the revival of the party will not change her mind. “What they say is that [le rapport] will be a compass for the future leader,” she maintained.
“Unifying nationalism”
The report on the relaunch of the PLQ, entitled “Assert yourself, gather, prosper”, suggests in particular that the formation relies on an “affirmation project” of Quebec to renew itself.
Among the Committee’s 41 proposals is a draft Quebec Constitution, as reported The duty at the end of September. This document would contain “the rules, norms and constitutional conventions governing Quebec” and would “explicitly state the values and Quebec identity”.
According to Mr. Pratte, this is an attractive idea for Quebecers. “It makes me dream to see that Quebec will assert itself on the Canadian and international scene. I think that’s what Quebecers want today,” he said.
The document also recommends that the training led by Marc Tanguay propose “the adoption of a law on interculturalism which would define the principles and conditions on which the integration of newcomers, the development of cultural diversity and the “living together”, in addition to demanding the repatriation of temporary immigration powers to Quebec and supporting the idea of reforming the voting system.
The report will not be binding on the future leader of the political party.
Beauchemin will be on the general council
The PLQ leadership race only had one potential candidate last week: MP Frédéric Beauchemin. However, a complaint for psychological harassment lodged against him by the president of the young liberals, Élyse Moisan, changes the situation. Mr. Beauchemin was temporarily excluded from the Liberal caucus this weekend after the interim leader of the party, Marc Tanguay, became aware of the complaint.
The elected representative of Marguerite-Bourgeoys completely denies the allegations, according to which he and his team were harassing, intimidating and threatening towards Mme Moisan, who is also a researcher for the PLQ in the National Assembly. He also plans to go to the party’s general council this weekend.
Asked about his presence on Thursday, Marc Tanguay simply said that “any member can participate in the general council”.
Is Mr. Beauchemin’s possible candidacy for a leadership race called into question? “The party has internal policies and processes which are also confidential,” indicated the president of the PLQ, Rafael P. Ferraro. “I can’t say more about what happens next. »