After saying she was open to a form of recognition for families with more than two parents, the minister responsible for LGBTQ + issues in the Legault government, Martine Biron, double-locked the door the same day.
In Quebec, a child can only have two parents in the eyes of the law. Groups, such as the Coalition of LGBT + families, have made representations to the Legault government so that multi-parenting is legally recognized. The rights of families with more than two parents would not be adequately protected, according to them.
Questioned on the subject on Friday, Ms. Biron said that her reflection was not over, but that the door remained open. “I am open to different formulas. I start working with them [les groupes LGBT]. We want to perpetuate an LGBTQ office within the Secretariat for the Status of Women. We want to invest to help them structure themselves and better advance their case. That is one. »
For his part, the Minister of Justice, Simon Jolin-Barrette, had completely closed the door on the question in the fall of 2021 when he presented his bill to reform family law.
“For us, it is very clear that the family unit has only two parents, he had decided. Literature and studies do not show that it is better for a child to have more than two parents. »
Does Ms. Biron intend to carry the ball to her colleague in Justice? “I’m thinking about it,” she replies. The strategy [LGBTQ] will be out soon, in the spring. We can get back to you on these questions.
The open door, however, quickly closed at the end of the afternoon. The minister would have “poorly expressed”, according to the press attaché Catherine Boucher. “She meant that she was open to different issues,” she says. Of course, the door is closed on multi-parenting. »
In a multi-parent family, more than two people occupy the role of parent with a child, but only two people are legally recognized as holders of parental authority.
Different situations of multi-parenting exist. For example, a lesbian couple and the sperm donor might choose to each have a parental role in the child’s life. A trouple, a couple made up of three people, can also raise a child, even if all the parents do not have a biological or legal link with the child.
Maintaining ties with China
Ms. Biron, who is also the Minister of International Relations, was in Montreal to give a conference on Quebec’s foreign policy. More than 450 people braved the polar cold on Friday to hear the former Radio-Canada journalist speak at the Montreal Council on International Relations (CORIM).
If the Minister had mentioned, two weeks ago, the possibility of closing offices in China, Ms. Biron insisted on the fact that there was no question of breaking diplomatic ties in a context of tensions between Beijing and the ‘West.
She pointed out that China is Quebec’s second largest export market. “There is therefore no question of cutting our ties with them”, she assures us in her presentation.
The Minister is, however, considering the organization of its workforce in China, where Quebec has five offices and branches, namely in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Qingdao and Shenzhen. However, this decision must be taken “with a clear head”. “Perhaps these five antennas will remain, nuance Ms. Biron in the press scrum. Maybe they will have less staff where it is less efficient. It’s a bit like this reflection that we do. »
She mentions that the policy of health restrictions in China has had an effect on the work of staff. “It’s been difficult in recent years for the people who work in these offices,” she says. They couldn’t move much. They didn’t do much business because everything was closed. How are you now ? What will be China’s next move? I think you have to watch things, see how things are going and make the appropriate decisions. »
She also mentions that trade in Mumbai (India), Singapore and Seoul (South Korea) has experienced strong growth. “Do these delegations need reinforcements? I’m not saying that’s what will happen, but the question arises. »