(Montreal) The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, admits having criticized the lowering of the Quebec flag too quickly, barely a few hours after the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday.
Posted at 2:29 p.m.
“I agree that I had too spontaneous a reaction, that I chose the wrong moment because at the time, I was addressing the Government of Quebec and if it offended people, it was not that. my intention, ”explained the PQ leader on Friday, on the sidelines of an announcement on the renovation of schools, in Montreal.
Thursday, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon denounced on social networks the decision of the Legault government to put the Quebec flag at half mast on the central tower of the Parliament Building until the day of the funeral. On Twitter, the leader wrote that François Legault “should not treat the Queen of England as head of the Quebec state nor give credibility to an illegitimate British colonial regime in Quebec. »
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon does not regret having made his remarks, but agrees that this “legitimate discussion” on the place of the monarchy in Canada and in Quebec must take place at another time. “Let’s have that discussion, but not today,” he said, promising to come back to it during the campaign.
According to him, despite the major legacy of Queen Elizabeth II, “it cannot be denied that she also represented an institution: the British crown, which caused significant harm to both Quebecers and Aboriginal Nations”. If he had been in power, he explains that a representative of Quebec would have attended the Queen’s funeral and that he would have sent “a very clear missive on the fact that we share their grief and that we offer them our sympathies and our respect”, but that he would not have lowered the flag.
The Quebec flag was lowered at half-mast when Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother, died in March 2002 and when Princess Margaret died in February 2002, under the PQ government of Bernard Landry.