The sudden departure of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon during a parliamentary committee following a tough exchange with the Prime Minister demonstrates that the PQ leader is “a little bit soupy,” says the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville .
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Tension is rising between the Parti Québécois and the Coalition Avenir Québec. Since the PQ has risen in the polls, attacks have multiplied against the PQ leader.
On Wednesday, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon left before the end of the budget appropriations of the Executive Council in which the leader of the PQ could question Prime Minister François Legault. A mandatory transparency exercise.
- See an excerpt from the exchange in question:
Behind the scenes, elected officials claimed that the leader of the PQ had left the committee room shortly before, angry. The answers offered by the head of government would not have pleased him.
With each question, Mr. Legault tried to box Paul St-Pierre Plamondon by confronting him with contradictions on independence taken from his books, published before becoming an MP.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon questioned the Prime Minister on immigration powers. He wondered whether the Prime Minister would also side with the Yes camp if a referendum were held.
After his departure, the parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, joked, promising the Prime Minister that he would stay throughout the exercise, even if he did not like the answers.
“Milk soup”
Asked about the attitude of Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, laughed, indicating that the leader of the PQ is perhaps a little stubborn.
“I notice that he sometimes has exaggerated, knee-jerk reactions. Look, it happens. This has already happened to me, he said. Remember that Bernard Drainville left a parliamentary committee with a bang, irritated by the questions asked by the liberal Marwah Rizqy on education.
Nevertheless, the Prime Minister even added a layer during the question period Thursday morning in the National Assembly, throwing a jab at the PQ leader.
“I hope that the leader of the Parti Québécois will stay until the end of the question period, not too upset with the answers,” declared François Legault, following a question on the price of gasoline.
The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, also reacted by indicating that it was never good to get angry.
“I can offer him some caramels. It’s less good for the figure, but it’s good for the mind,” he declared.
That four deputies
The PQ leader decided to laugh about it on the social network Milk soup”. I am finally unmasked,” he wrote.
The sovereignist party also assures for its part that Paul St-Pierre Plamondon did not leave because he was angry.
“Paul comes in and out of each of the appropriations exercises, because we are only four deputies and we try to be as present as possible in all the appropriations studies,” said his spokesperson Louis Lyonnais. “He left to go to a meeting with six French deputies after completing his questions […] Even if Legault had announced that he would vote yes, we would have left.”