(Trois-Rivières) At the party convention on Saturday, PQ activists sent the signal that they wanted to define the precise plan of an independent Quebec, in particular with regard to the army and the currency.
Among the elements to be defined, it is a question among others of “the currency, the army, the pension systems, the border guard and the political system”, according to the adopted proposal. Activist Andrée Sylvain stressed the importance of answering these questions, in order to “make fear disappear”. “Anyone who has known the two referendums knows how much the fear of the unknown has been a deterrent,” she argued.
Earlier, during a press scrum, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon stressed the need to reflect on issues such as the place an independent Quebec would occupy at the UN. Regarding a Quebec army, the PQ leader affirmed that there were “even more pressing questions regarding independence, in particular the budget for year one of an independent Quebec”.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, ARCHIVES THE CANADIAN PRESS
The leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon
The activists have retained the idea of ”implementing” gender parity in public and parastatal bodies of power, and not of “promoting” it, as proposed. It is necessary to speak of an implementation, since favoring “does not contain any measure or obligation to achieve the result », Said Marie-Laurence Desgagné, president of the National Youth Committee of the Parti Québécois. “I have ambition, I want women in positions of power”, she concluded, to the applause of the room.
At the end of a debate, the activists also adopted the proposal to “develop programs to arouse in young people a feeling of belonging and attachment to Quebec as well as to its history”.
Reluctance towards free education for all
Earlier in the morning, during a press scrum, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon argued that he “had a hard time conceiving that we could pay university to a family that earns $ 500,000 a year”. The leader of the Parti Québécois affirms that choices must be made and that free education was aimed at “families with less means”. He hinted that the affected households would be those below the median income, but that he would let activists decide. The chief recalled that before offering free education for all, there were other priorities such as “the protection of children and the elderly”.
Among the proposals that will be debated during the day, it will notably be a question of “guaranteeing free education from primary to university. Asked whether the position of the PQ leader is in contradiction with this objective, Marie-Laurence Desgagné, president of the National Youth Committee of the Parti Quebecois, specifies that the free admission would be “gradual”. “This is not irreconcilable with the position of the leader who first proposes to offer free education to those who need it most,” she said.
Mme Desgagné added that the objective was not necessarily to apply free education overnight “if Quebecers are not there”.
Environment and CPE
Regarding what differentiates the Parti Québécois from other political parties, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon argued that in addition to independence, the PQs stand out in terms of the environment.
We are very different because we are focused on how to reach the targets [climatiques] instead of doing numerology and swelling numbers.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, head of the PQ
“Childcare centers are us”, recalled Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon, about the creation of this system 25 years ago. “We are telling Quebecers that every child has the right to quality and that every parent has the right to find a place for their children,” he said.
During the day, the issues debated will notably be the reduction in demand for transport, free feminine hygiene products, the end of segregationist practices in private schools, the establishment of a process for the dismissal of elected officials. , or even facilitate party activities in high schools, CEGEPs and universities.
With The Canadian Press