The leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ), Marc Tanguay, strongly criticized the support of Quebec solidaire (QS) for Bill 96 and the new Commissioner for the French language, Benoit Dubreuil, during the presentation of his candidate in the by-election in the riding of Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne.
“Quebec Solidaire, in terms of rights and freedoms, it is no better than François Legault, he declared during a press briefing in Montreal on Saturday morning. When he voted in favor of Bill 96, which notably reduces access to services for immigrants after six months [Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois] has ceased to be united”.
Mr. Tanguay underlined that he no longer “recognizes the Québec solidaire of the time of Françoise David” and that his co-spokesperson, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, had been “malleable” in terms of rights and freedoms. He also accused the party of supporting a commissioner who was interfering in the “private life” of Quebecers.
“The language spoken at home, let’s be clear, is not a threat. The development of French is important. […] It doesn’t happen at home, but in the education system, the language of commerce and the language of work,” he said in an interview.
This slander follows a tweet published Saturday morning by Mr. Tanguay, in which he affirmed that Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois had “abandoned the beautiful great principles of QS”.
In a press scrum at the National Council of QS, the solidarity deputy Vincent Marissal designated this attack as “totally exaggerated”, adding that the Liberal leader was saying “anything”.
“I remind you that the Liberals, on Bill 96, they changed their minds about three times. […] They have many, many internal problems on this issue, ”he replied.
According to him, these spikes are only indicative of the “panic” that reigns within the PLQ.
“I repeat, it has been six days since the campaign left. What will happen in two weeks, three weeks when he will feel the carpet slipping under his feet? […] It’s essential oil of panic,” Mr. Marissal added.
A first commitment from Christopher Baenninger
Liberal candidate Christopher Baenninger also revealed on Saturday morning his first campaign commitment for the March 13 by-election, namely that of being the “only candidate to always defend the rights and freedoms of all Quebecers and Quebecers”.
During the press briefing held in his new premises, the one who will wear the colors of the party in the riding of Saint-Henri-Sainte-Anne assured that he would be a “unifier” and that he would give a “strong voice” to the voters.
“I believe that we can achieve our objectives of French development without infringing on rights and freedoms,” said Mr. Baenninger. I firmly believe that the solution lies in achieving and supporting Frenchization (sic)”.
When the by-election was called on Monday, interim leader Marc Tanguay confirmed that the president of an advertising agency would represent the Liberals. Left vacant by the departure of former Liberal leader Dominique Anglade on December 1, the Montreal county has always been in the colors of the PLQ since its creation in 1994.
“I’m going to confirm a rumor that was circulating this week. […] The fact that he was the first of the major parties represented in the National Assembly to file his nomination paper shows that the response is excellent on the ground,” indicated Mr. Tanguay in an interview.
The fight of the liberal candidate with the solidarity formation promises to be tight when he will have to prevail over the lawyer Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, who came second behind Dominique Anglade in the last elections.
The Parti Québécois chose Andréanne Fiola, former candidate for Laval-des-Rapides last October, and the Coalition avenir Québec chose the president of its youth wing, Victor Pelletier. The name of the Conservative candidate is expected to be announced on Sunday.
Last fall, Christopher Baenninger also ran in the riding of Sainte-Marie–Saint-Jacques, where he was defeated by the solidarity Manon Massé by collecting 15.85% of the votes cast.