(Montreal and Gatineau) Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois was arrested several times on Saturday by citizens of immigrant background who denounced the comments made in recent weeks by the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) about them. In these very last days of the campaign, the co-spokesperson of Québec solidaire (QS) took the opportunity to appeal to undecided voters to join him in opposing the party of François Legault.
Updated yesterday at 9:20 p.m.
In the streets of the Ahuntsic district and in the evening at the TOHU in Saint-Michel, Mr. Nadeau-Dubois multiplied the walkabouts on Saturday, while the left-wing party tries to delight the ridings of Maurice-Richard and Viau in Liberal Party of Dominique Anglade.
At the Promenade Fleury, a man of Haitian origin ran to join the co-spokesperson of QS to denounce the remarks of the outgoing Minister of Immigration, Jean Boulet, who had affirmed in mid-September that 80% immigrants “do not work”. The deputy and CAQ candidate has since apologized. He also claimed that these comments did not reflect his thinking.
“Why is an immigration minister going to tell us that we are not working? This is unacceptable ! […] It hurts. It hurts me very, very, very badly. […] It hurts. The Haitian community, everyone works,” denounced the citizen with emotion during his discussion with the supportive parliamentary leader.
Later in the evening, during an event at TOHU, another man arrested Mr. Nadeau-Dubois to in turn denounce the comments of the head of the CAQ, François Legault, about immigration.
“It is destroying social cohesion. What he is saying every day, every time, he is cracking our cohesion. Quebec must belong to all of us, or it will never belong to anyone,” he said, adding that “the world is going into a spin, [mais] we must preserve our Quebec”.
PHOTO MARTIN ROY, THE LAW
For his last days of campaigning, Saturday and Sunday, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois is campaigning mainly in Montreal, where Quebec solidaire is trying to snatch several ridings from the Liberals of Dominique Anglade.
Hopes for a breakthrough in Outaouais
Earlier in the day on Saturday, the day after a militant rally in Gatineau – where Québec solidaire thinks it can make a breakthrough in the riding of Hull – Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois appealed to undecided voters.
You don’t have to agree with everything Québec solidaire says, but on Monday, ask yourself the question: who is the best team to stop François Legault?
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, QS co-spokesperson
“Who is the best team to follow François Legault on the issues that are his greatest weaknesses, housing and the environment? I think that this team, Quebeckers recognize it, is Quebec solidaire, ”he argued.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois was accompanied for the occasion by his local candidate, the economist Mathieu Perron-Dufour. The riding of Hull, which includes downtown Gatineau, is a stone’s throw from the border with Ontario. It has elected a member of the Liberal Party continuously since 1981. Only the Parti Québécois managed to make a breakthrough during its first mandate, from 1976 to 1981, when René Lévesque was elected Prime Minister.
“The figures of the last few days confirm this to us. We are capable here, next Monday, of causing quite a surprise with the first supportive MNA in the Outaouais region,” said Mr. Nadeau-Dubois. The supportive parliamentary leader cited a recent poll published in the newspaper The right which indicates that a three-way race is taking shape in this riding between outgoing Liberal MP Maryse Gaudreault, CAQ candidate Suzanne Tremblay and the solidarity candidate.
Nadeau-Dubois calls himself “speakable”
To voters who would be tempted to vote for Québec solidaire because of its plan to fight against climate change, but who are worried about the tax on the “ultra-rich” that the party promises to introduce for citizens who hold more million in net assets, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois said he was “talkable”.
“We talk about everything. I am talkable about everything, ”he said, stressing all the same that the spirit of his proposal was that the wealthiest could contribute more to public finances, even if they are already among the most taxed in the country.
“I want to send a message […] for the undecided in Quebec. My message is: this weekend, talk about politics with your family. Let’s organize in Quebec a big [jasette] between generations,” added Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.