(Montreal) Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois raises the tone and attacks head-on his CAQ opponent, François Legault. According to him, the outgoing Prime Minister is “unworthy” of his position and misinforms Quebecers about the Québec solidaire (QS) environmental plan. “I have no intention of letting myself go,” he warned on Friday
Posted at 12:32 p.m.
The day after the last debate of the leaders of the electoral campaign, the co-spokesperson of QS launched several arrows towards the leader of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ). Mr. Nadeau-Dubois says that the last days on his caravan will be in “conquest” mode of ridings that his party wishes to conquer on October 3. “I have no intention of letting François Legault screw up Quebec’s potential in the fight against climate change,” he said.
“François Legault has demonstrated that he would have been an excellent prime minister, let’s say a decent prime minister, in 1992. When the fight against climate change was not, let’s say, the highest priority for an entire generation” , added Mr. Nadeau-Dubois on the sidelines of a speech at the convention of the Quebec Federation of Municipalities (FQM), in Montreal.
“The question of the ballot box, on October 3, is not what is best for us. It’s what’s best for our children and our grandchildren. Do we trust François Legault to take care of the future of our environment? I think the answer to that question is no,” he said.
Requalify workers
The parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire also accused François Legault of lying when the latter claims that the left-wing party will close businesses with its ecological transition plan.
“There is no question of closing any business. What François Legault does is tell stories of fear. François Legault, it’s Mr. impossible, it’s Mr. we are not capable. Instead of encouraging Quebecers, instead of mobilizing them to make a real green transition, he spends his election campaign blubbering against Quebec solidaire and misinforming Quebecers,” he said.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois nevertheless asserts that certain economic sectors, such as refineries or petrochemicals, among others, will see demand decrease. He promises to help these workers requalify in sectors of the future. Other polluting sectors, such as cement plants, for example, will also have innovative technological solutions in the coming years to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, said Mr. Nadeau-Dubois.
“I have already heard François Legault say [qu’il espère] that we won’t remember [lui] like the prime minister of the pandemic. I want to reassure him: if I rely on his balance sheet, history […] will retain the name of François Legault as the Prime Minister who drove us into the climate wall, ”he denounced.
The PQ and QS, allies who ignore each other?
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois also said that the many times when Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon and himself agreed Thursday at the leaders’ debate do not make the two parties natural allies. Even if Québec solidaire and the Parti québécois are two sovereigntist political parties, Mr. Nadeau-Dubois attacked the PQ leader, saying that he no longer represented the interests of the regions.
“The Parti Québécois was once the party of the regions. Obviously it is not anymore because when I go out into the field, what I hear from workers, from companies, from everyone and even in public services, is that they need reinforcements to fill the labor shortage,” he said.
Mr. Nadeau-Dubois asserts that an immigration threshold of 35,000, as proposed by the PQ, would aggravate the labor shortage. QS proposes to increase this threshold between 60,000 and 80,000.
At the FQM convention, the parliamentary leader of QS promised municipalities a transfer of $45 million per year to municipalities so that they could carry out climate change adaptation projects.