Paul St-Pierre Plamondon clarifies his position on immigration and the “rise of extremes”, but refuses to back down. According to him, it is first and foremost irregular entries at the border with the United States that could contribute to an upheaval of social peace in Quebec.
On Wednesday, the PQ leader had indicated at a press conference that it was urgent to find a “sustainable model” in terms of immigration, in order to avoid “dissatisfaction” in certain segments of the Quebec population. “We are the only ones looking for a sustainable model, so that precisely, we avoid what we see elsewhere in the world: the rise of extremes”, he had launched when asked about the threshold of 35,000 immigrants per year. prioritized by the Parti Québécois (PQ).
Invited to clarify his thinking on Thursday, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon wanted to qualify some of his remarks. “What is changing at the moment is the irregular entries at Roxham. Then yesterday, I did not claim to have the model that is sustainable and viable, but we said: we must research, have a healthy discussion on our reception capacity, “he said on the sidelines. of its pre-sessional caucus.
“PSPP” is especially concerned to see the arrival of irregular migrants weaken the health of the French language and to offer services to all Quebecers, as well as to house them. “Because if we don’t act and the number of irregular entries increases, for example, to 100,000 and 200,000 in the next few years, it’s not viable,” he said. However, he refuses to deny his remarks the day before, which he describes as “sober”.
“I find it heartbreaking that it’s so difficult to have a healthy conversation on this issue without trying to amplify what I think was sober yesterday from me. And I maintain the importance of being able to lead this discussion on a democratic level, ”he said Thursday.
A few minutes after speaking to the parliamentary press, Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon published a chirp denouncing the remarks made by the radio columnist and former Liberal minister Nathalie Normandeau, according to whom the PQ leader “breaks sugar on the backs of immigrants”.
“This debate should not be confiscated by distorting the remarks”, retorted PSPP on Twitter.
During the election campaign last fall, Caquist leader François Legault had to make amends after asserting that there were “challenges” in the integration of immigrants in Quebec because “Quebecers are peaceful, they don’t like no chicanery, they don’t like extremists, they don’t like violence”.
“Integration will always be a challenge for a French-speaking nation in North America. I did not want to associate immigration with violence, ”he wrote on Twitter to apologize.