(Quebec) The opposition parties accuse Premier François Legault of inventing a crisis to boost his next election campaign, while the Prime Minister declared last weekend that Quebec could become Louisiana if his government does not obtain not from Ottawa all immigration powers.
Posted at 12:33 p.m.
“It was really nonsense,” official opposition leader Dominique Anglade said on Tuesday. “I speak Spanish at home with my son who was born in Quebec and I’m proud of it. There are many Quebec families who are proud to use their native language at home, but who use, value and are proud to speak French in the public space,” added Liberal MP Saul Polo.
At the convention of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) on Sunday in Drummondville, François Legault warned his supporters “against left or right ideologues”, demanding a “strong mandate” to demand full powers in immigration from the federal government.
“It’s a matter of survival for our nation!” “, he thundered, adding that “it may become a matter of time before we become a Louisiana”. This statement has since been criticized by many experts.
The caquiste balance sheet criticized
“French is back. Are we at the Louisiana stadium? No. But French is back, and it is linked to the current decisions of the CAQ, ”said Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon on Tuesday.
According to Manon Massé of Québec solidaire, “François Legault makes it seem that immigration is a threat, whereas, in fact, in Quebec, there is no immigration crisis”.
“I don’t know what world he lives in, but here, in Quebec, there are still more than 90% of Quebecers who are fluent in French. In Louisiana, they are given a handshake, ”she added, suggesting that the Prime Minister is trying to camouflage his record in other crises, such as that of housing or the environment.
“I have some news for François Legault: my family and I are not a threat to the survival of Quebec,” added solidarity MP Ruba Ghazal, who learned French when he arrived in Quebec by attending the francophone school system.
Remember that in Louisiana, in the southern United States, Francophones represent less than 2% of the population. Comparing this state to Quebec, as François Legault did, is “impossible and faulty”, reacted in particular Joseph Dunn, entrepreneur in cultural tourism and former director general of the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana ( CODOFIL).