The Prime Minister, François Legault, had to withdraw his remarks at the Blue Salon on Wednesday, after being surprised aloud to find that his Liberal colleague Pierre Arcand is alive and well.
“He’s not dead, is he? said Mr. Legault, off the microphone, in the middle of question period. Pierre Arcand, who is 70 years old, was in the process of questioning the government on its spending on advertising.
The Prime Minister’s remarks knocked the Liberal parliamentary leader, André Fortin, off his feet. “Comments like that do not make sense in this Assembly about colleagues. I ask you to remove this immediately, ”he said. Mr. Legault then agreed to withdraw his remarks.
“Pierre Arcand is a friend. It was a bad joke. I apologized, ”the head of government later wrote on Twitter.
Pierre Arcand is a friend. It was a bad joke. I apologized.
— Francois Legault (@francoislegault) April 27, 2022
“Not worthy of a prime minister”
Mr. Arcand said he was “strongly shaken” by the words of his colleague. “Today, he was not worthy of being prime minister,” he said of François Legault.
“It’s a bad joke, if it is one,” he also said. He referred to a “ cheap shot and mentioned that “in some societies, older people are respected”. Mr. Arcand underlined in passing that he is “in great shape”.
At his side, the Liberal leader Dominique Anglade said she was “troubled” by the Prime Minister’s remarks. “It’s a matter of respect. We put in hours and hours of work. We may not agree on ideas, but respect? It seems that the Prime Minister’s arrogance has no limits, ”she said.
A special adviser to the prime minister, Stéphane Gobeil, then mocked Ms. Anglade’s comments. ” The [premier ministre] made a “joke” flat. He immediately apologized to Pierre Arcand, whom he called a friend. Not enough to ride on his high horse. It rings false,” he wrote on Twitter.
Not the first time
This is not the first time that François Legault’s remarks at the Blue Room – on the microphone or off the microphone – have raised controversy.
In mid-March, he dropped a “Mother Teresa” after a question from solidarity MP Christine Labrie about the lack of childcare spaces. The oppositions then denounced the Prime Minister’s contempt, particularly towards women.
In September, the exchanges aimed at honoring the memory of Joyce Echaquan turned into a confrontation at the Blue Room. Mr. Legault had in particular criticized the solidarity deputy Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois for “stubbornly dividing Quebecers” and for being “radical” when he rebuffs the government’s choice to deny the existence of systemic racism.
During the same period, the Prime Minister had declared that a statutory holiday to commemorate the victims of residential schools for Aboriginals would harm Quebec’s productivity. Mr. Legault then admitted to having lacked compassion.
In June 2020, the Prime Minister also fell head over heels for PQ MP Pascal Bérubé, accusing him of “killing tourism” in Eastern Quebec. Mr. Bérubé had then left the Blue Salon denouncing the “shabby” nature of this comment.