Former Liberal MP Marlene Jennings believes that Prime Minister François Legault cannot at the same time praise democracy in Ukraine and violate the freedoms of Quebecers with Bill 96.
“I have to ask how @francoislegault explains his much appreciated support for democracy in Ukraine with his desire to suspend all rights and freedoms of all Quebecers with his Bill 96? asked Ms Jennings on Twitter.
“I ask myself the question, but only Legault can answer it,” she added in her tweet on Thursday evening.
The shortcut on the Ukrainian crisis by Ms. Jennings, who had participated in the consultations on Bill 96 on the protection of French, made the Minister of Justice Simon Jolin-Barette jump.
“Senseless and insensitive comment. Let’s all stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people,” replied Minister Jolin-Barette late in the evening on Twitter.
Bill 96 aimed at reforming Law 101 on the protection of the French language had raised an outcry and concerns in the business community in January.
Prime Minister François Legault has not yet reacted to the comment from the former member of the House of Commons.
Earlier in the day, he had condemned Russian aggression in Ukraine and promised that Quebec would do its part to welcome Ukrainian refugees.
“We must form a common front with our European and American allies. I have confidence that we will be able to defend together our democracies and the fundamental principles of our societies,” he wrote in a post on Facebook.