(Quebec) The interim Liberal leader, Marc Tanguay, considers François Legault’s comments about the judges of the Court of Appeal who are appointed by the federal government “completely irresponsible”.
“When François Legault comes to point out our courts of justice as being a threat to our work as parliamentarians, he comes to attack a foundation of our society which is the society of law,” launched the liberal leader at a press briefing Thursday in The national assembly.
In an exchange with the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ), Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, during the question period, François Legault said: “(The leader of the PQ) knows that the judges of the Court of Appeal are appointed by the federal government and he says that he has more confidence in the Court of Appeal than in the Government of Quebec to decide whether or not we are obliged to provide subsidized daycare services. It’s incredible. It’s the leader of the PQ who is lying face down in front of the federal government.”
Marc Tanguay accused the Prime Minister of taking up the idea of “judges appointed by Ottawa.” “This has been the old PQ speech for decades and François Legault is making a fundamental error to repeat this,” he added.
Liberal MP André A. Morin added his voice to that of his leader by affirming that François Legault’s declaration made “no sense”. “See that because judges are appointed by the federal government, that they will not be impartial and that we cannot trust them,” he said in a video published on X.
On February 7, the Quebec government was rejected by the Court of Appeal, which ruled that asylum seekers holding a work permit could indeed entrust their children to a subsidized daycare service and thus benefit from the reduced contribution.
The court ruled that the government’s regulation, which deprives asylum seekers of subsidized child care, discriminates against women and contravenes the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The government opposes this judgment and intends to go to the Supreme Court to prevent the children of asylum seekers from having access to the province’s Early Childhood Centers (CPE) and subsidized daycares.
For its part, the PQ rather affirms that we must “offer a place to all children, regardless of their status.”
“It is the government’s decision to submit to the Supreme Court on these issues and regardless of this decision, the reality is that the number of people we welcome per year far exceeds our capacity to offer services , in which case these children will enter the waiting list that already exists,” said Paul St-Pierre Plamondon in a press scrum on Thursday.
“A question of common sense”
At a press briefing before the question period on Thursday, the Prime Minister defended his decision to go to the Supreme Court so that the children of Quebec citizens be prioritized in CPEs with remarks that were reminiscent of a slogan from the leader curator, Pierre Poilievre.
“It’s a matter of common sense. […] I think that as long as we are not able to offer childcare services to all Quebecers, and I am talking about subsidized childcare services, we must first offer them to Quebec citizens,” said the first minister.
The Minister of Families, Suzanne Roy, refutes the Court of Appeal’s argument that Quebec’s decision constitutes discrimination based on sex. “We absolutely disagree. […] Quebec is an egalitarian society. The values of equality between men and women are part of our fundamental values,” she said.
Legault will meet Trudeau
While Ottawa refuses to respond to Quebec’s complaints regarding asylum seekers and pressure increases on public services, François Legault will meet his counterpart Justin Trudeau in the coming weeks.
Prime Minister Legault also asked Ottawa to reintroduce visas for Mexican travelers as quickly as possible, because many asylum seekers come from Mexico, according to Mr. Legault.
Earlier this week, four ministers from the Quebec government once again called on Ottawa to slow down the arrival of asylum seekers and ensure that they are better distributed across the country.
The CAQ government claims that the costs associated with welcoming asylum seekers now exceed $1 billion and continues to demand reimbursement from the federal government.
According to Quebec, the province welcomes 55% of asylum seekers who arrive in Canada.