(Quebec) Paul St-Pierre Plamondon’s opponents wonder if the PQ leader is not “soppy”, the day after a parliamentary commission where he left in a hurry, exasperated with the answers of Prime Minister François Legault , which he considered inadequate.
“I think it’s never good to get angry. I learned that over time,” said Health Minister Christian Dubé. “I can offer him caramels, it’s less good for the figure, but it’s good for the soul,” he added.
“He might be a little soupy. I ask the question,” said his fellow minister, Bernard Drainville.
The day before, PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon made a brief appearance during the study of the appropriations of the Ministry of the Executive Council, the Prime Minister’s ministry. He arrived halfway through the exercise and began his speech by emphasizing how little time he had. “You’re lucky, I only have 12 minutes,” he told Mr. Legault.
Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon asked him on multiple occasions if he was going to campaign for the Yes camp in the event of the failure of the third way. The Prime Minister did not want to directly answer the question which he considered hypothetical. Instead, he stressed that he was not giving up and intended to seek more powers from Ottawa, while criticizing the past positions and changes of course of Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon.
Stung, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon affirmed at the end of the exchange that “the exercise consists on the Prime Minister’s side of reading random quotes”, and he left the room while he had one left. just under a minute on the clock.
Bérubé almost left too
PQ MP Pascal Bérubé took to his defense. There were only 40 seconds left when the PQ leader left, he said. “I understand it so much to think that it is wasted time when the Prime Minister does not respond,” explained Mr. Bérubé.
He added that he himself “almost quit” during the study of immigration credits “because the minister not only did not answer, but I asked very correct questions, then she just attacked me. » “We are real people, we do not pretend, we are not actors, we are the image of Quebec. If people don’t respond to us, why would we tolerate an exercise like this,” he added.
Minister Drainville does not agree. He said he noticed that Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon “sometimes has knee-jerk reactions,” and stressed that Quebecers “get to know him.”
A failure, according to Fortin
As for past changes in position – François Legault noted that he “already said that he had discomfort with nationalism, that the decline of French did not exist, that law 101 in CEGEP was not a good idea” — it is normal that they are noted, he pleaded.
“You need to get used to having to explain your positions and past statements. It’s part of the game, of the world of politics, to make you recall past statements and explain what made you move forward. It is normal for Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon to be asked these questions,” indicated Mr. Drainville.
Liberal André Fortin went further in his criticism of the PQ leader. By leaving the room leaving time on the table, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon failed. “The leader of the Parti Québécois who can speak to the Prime Minister of Quebec on all issues, he leaves time on the table, in my opinion, he has failed in his role as controller of government action,” he said. said.
“There is a housing crisis, there is a crisis in agriculture, there is a labor shortage crisis. There are endless difficulties in accessing health. I do not understand why the leader of the Parti Québécois does not take advantage of the very precious time allocated to him to do his work as a controller of government action,” he added.